


It Was You

by mehrstimmige



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Accepting Parents, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - High School, Baker Hunk, Barista Lance, Engineer Hunk, F/M, Gay Keith, Hunk is very pure okay, I don't know what else to tag, M/M, PINING KEITH, Pidge doesn't date anyone, Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Shiro has a prosthetic arm, Shiro is a sophmore, Swearing, This is going to be a long fic, adopted keith, basically siblings really, best friends Shiro and Keith, bi lance, but not, but they do build robots which is pretty great, coffee/flower shop AU, everyone but Shiro is a freshman in high school at the start, fencer Keith, flower shop worker Keith, not all of these are right away, oblivious lance, oh boy here we go - Freeform, or vanishes, science nerd Pidge, sorry if tags are out of order, swimmer Lance, the pining is based off of personal experience not gonna lie, there's going to be a lot of stuff in this, they/them pidge, with a lot of AUs in it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-20 17:12:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9501890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mehrstimmige/pseuds/mehrstimmige
Summary: Keith knew he was gay; he had known for a while. But seeing Lance from across the cafeteria really cemented this for him, and he pined for years for him. Pidge, Hunk, and Shiro all wanted to say something to the completely oblivious Lance, but didn't know how to make him realize that the looks Keith gave him were more than "let's be best friends forever" looks.This fic is filled with pining, various AUs, gay thoughts, and personal experiences. Thank you to my dear friends for reading this and helping it to flow better!





	1. First Day

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for opening the fic, it means a lot to me! I hope you enjoy!

Keith looked across the room, scanning the crowd of unfamiliar faces to find someone, anyone that he knew. He hadn't had a chance to ask any of his - albeit few and far between - friends when they had lunch. A familiar freckled face caught his attention, the scar across his face and white shock of hair the most comforting sight in the overwhelming room. He looked like he was occupied by talking to someone else, So Keith kept looking around. At least nobody else was noticing him. Nobody stuck out to him; there were a few people from his old school, and Shiro seemed to have some new friends already -  _ or _ , Keith realised,  _ they could be friends from last year. He is a grade ahead _ . There wasn't much to look at in the crowded cafeteria, people sitting and unpacking lunches from home or chatting in the ridiculously long lunch lines. 

One boy, however, stuck out. He looked like the athletic type; maybe the track team? It was hard to tell. He leaned against a wall, an oversized jacket hanging from tan shoulders.  _ He looks gay, I hope he's gay. _ Keith suddenly thought, surprised at himself and hoping that he was imagining the sudden warmth in his face.  _ Not now, gay thoughts. Not now.  _ He continued to scan the room, trying to block out all of the noise and the light. It was too much. When he scanned the room for potentially the millionth time, in hopes that he could find someone familiar so that he could do something other than look at everyone else having conversations, he tried to avoid looking at the tan boy with an oversized jacket and a smile that was brighter than the fluorescent lights. It was too loud to hear what his laugh sounded like, but he really wanted to know.

“Keith!” A deep voice called, snapping his attention over to a broad-chested goofball of a sophomore. Shiro made his way through the crowd to Keith, only stopping to say hello to a couple of people as he did. 

  “Shiro!” Keith replied, smiling at his best friend. 

  “How's this wonderful school treating you so far?” 

  “Oh, you know, I already have a headache from these people screaming hellos at each other and I don't know most of the people in my classes, but other than that it’s good.”

  “Come on, where's your school spirit!”

  “Ah, yes, sorry, Mr. Lion.”

  “Hey-”

  “You won last year, which makes you Mr. Lion.”

  “That’s not what I meant by school spirit.”

  “Well, what would you suggest?”

  “I don’t know, get involved in something? There’s a fencing team.”

  “A fencing team?” Keith asked. “Like, a competitive one?”

  “Yeah. It’s actually pretty good, you have to try out and everything.”

  “Really?”

  “You should try out, you could probably make it. You’re good with a sword.”

  “Maybe I will.”

  “You will.”

  Keith snorted. “How are you so sure?”

  “I just am.”

  The two of them stood there for a moment, trying to not get knocked over in the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria. Keith’s eyes drifted back to where the attractive stranger had been, but he was nowhere in sight. All that was on that wall was another group of people, and a poster for the swim team.  _ Damn. _

“Why don’t we get some food?” Shiro suggested, trying to get his friend’s attention again. 

  “What?”

  “You were zoning out. Let’s get some food.” Shiro repeated. Keith nodded, and the two found a table to sit at in a corner where it was less overwhelming. “What classes do you still have?”

  “Uh….” Keith reached into his pocket, pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper. “Hmm...” He squinted at the page. “Chem, English, and gym. What about you?”

  “Ceramics, math, and English.” Shiro replied.

  “Ceramics?” Keith smiled. “Have fun throwing pots.”

  “Yes, Ceramics. It… I needed an art credit, and it seemed like fun, and-”

  “Relax, you definitely are the type.”

  “The type?”

  “Y’know, you’re gentle and strong.”

  “I just hope that my arm won’t get too gummed up with clay,” Shiro joked. “Maybe the teacher will let me stop a bit earlier than everyone else so that I can make sure it’s clean. I’ll probably wear a rubber glove or something to help keep stuff out of it, though.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. You could get one of those elbow-high ones with flowers on it if you were feeling fancy.”

  “Bite me.”

  “Nah, no homo but you’d be too into that.”

  “You are the most homo guy I know, Keith.”

  “Yeah, but not for you.”

  Shiro put a hand over his heart in mock-shock. “How rude!”

  “You know I love you,” Keith leaned against his best friend for a second. “But seriously, you could rock those flower gloves.” 

  The two looked each other in the eyes, Shiro solemnly nodding. “They’ll be my battle uniform. I think that the bright yellows and pinks would compliment the sleek black design of my arm.” He deadpanned before the two burst into laughter. 

  “I- I can’t believe- you- said- that-” Keith wheezed. “I can’t- breathe!”

  The two laughed for what felt like forever, until both of their ribcages ached and they were light headed. “God, I missed going to school with you,” Keith sighed happily, still leaning against Shiro, who was leaning against him right back. 

  “I missed you, too.”

The two of them stayed like that for a while, just enjoying each other’s calming presence and ignoring the way other people rushed through conversations about summers and classes. They chatted absently about how their classes had been so far, who they knew. Shiro gave Keith advice on the teacher he had the year prior that Keith had now, and advised the younger boy about how intimidating Principle Allura was. “She acts more like an uptight Headmistress than anything else.”

“Oh, and regarding your chem teacher - nobody knows how to spell his last name, let alone say it, so he just has everyone call him Mr. Coran. He’s an intense believer in pairing students without their input, so don’t even bother trying to pick a lab partner. Good luck.” As if on cue, the bell rang and Shiro stood. “Meet up at the end of the day?” 

Keith nodded blankly. “See you at the end of the day.” He pulled his schedule out, looking at the room number and memorising it as he gathered his stuff to head to chemistry.

 

\---

 

“Welcome, students!” An enthusiastic voice boomed, causing everyone who wasn’t already in their seats to practically fall into them. “I’ve spent too long hearing people try to pronounce my last name, so don’t even bother. I’m your teacher, Mr. Coran. Welcome to chemistry.” His lips curled from underneath an orange moustache. “I’m sure you’ve all heard this already, but here at Altea we have a very strict curriculum. It is high school, after all. That being said, I’m a generally relaxed teacher. I allow you two days at a minimum to complete assignments for full credit, and after that you lose a point a day. Homework is ten percent, quizzes are twenty, tests are for fifty, final is worth twenty, and labs are accounted for in tests. You can do corrections on quizzes to receive full credit, and on labs and tests for half the points.” He paused for a minute to let the students absorb what he just said. “During labs, everyone with long hair will be required to pull it back. I will always have spare hairbands, but try to bring your own.” He pulled one from his wrist and ran his fingers through his fiery hair, tying it back into a low ponytail. “Anyone who can do this is required to, and if you have hair that isn’t long enough to put back with an elastic but it is deemed unsafe then I will be happy to provide you with bobby pins. Some of you might have to use both.” He pointedly looked at a couple of students, Keith included. “Now that all of that is out of the way, how about introductions? I’ll be choosing your lab partners, so now is your first chance to make a good impression on your potential yearlong partner. Lab partners won’t change unless unsavory circumstances arrive. Please say your name, your favourite subject excluding science-oriented classes, and… hmm, what’s something that I haven’t used in another class today… Nobody really wants to know what school you came from, that only creates unnecessary premature opinions, so… what’s currently in your pockets? You, over by the door with the black hair - you start.” 

Keith gestured to himself before Mr. Coran nodded. “Yes, you. Stand up, and speak loudly please.”

  Keith gulped. “Uh, I’m Keith Kogane, I like history and English, and right now I have my phone, wallet, keys, and a pack of gum.” He didn’t mention the Swiss Army knife that he always had in his pocket; that was bound to be somewhere in student handbook. He sat down after what felt like an eternity, waiting for the next student to stand. 

  “I’m Pidge Gunderson, I like math and engineering, and right now in my pockets are my phone, a USB drive or two, and probably some lint.” 

  Introduction after introduction went by, but only a couple others stuck out. After the tiny thing that was Pidge - Keith wasn’t sure if Pidge was a boy or a girl, but he didn’t feel it was appropriate to ask - gave their introduction, there were five or ten boring students, then some kid named Hunk went. He had darker skin, Keith couldn’t remember his last name, and he liked the cooking classes. A voice in Keith’s head told him  _ be friends with this man, he will give you good food. _ Keith agreed with this voice, and hoped that perhaps they would be lab partners. 

  “The name’s Lance McClain, I like gym class, and in my pockets are pens, pencils, gum, and a small pad of paper.”  _ So much for wanting to be lab partners with chef boy, screw good food when there was an evidently better option. _ He recognized the stupidly oversized olive green jacket, the tan skin and dark hair matching exactly with the boy he had seen earlier.

_Lance._ Keith burned the name into his mind. _For the second time,_ _I hope he’s gay._ The way he gave his introduction oozed confidence, cockiness. Keith wanted to hate it, he truly did, but he could only find it to be attractive on him; Lance clearly had things to be cocky about, and Keith wanted to learn every single one.

Introductions came to a close, the bell rang, and the students grabbed their syllabus from the front table before leaving for their next class. Keith ran up the stairs to his English class, finding the room with a couple minutes to spare. The small person from his chemistry class, Pidge, was in his English class as well. He sat next to them, hoping that they wouldn’t notice him. No such luck, though, as they put away their phone - it had charms dangling from it, Keith noticed - and looked at him through thick, round glasses. “You were in my last class.” Pidge observed.

  “Yeah. Pidge, right?”

  “Yep. I don’t really do well with names of people the first time around, what was yours again?”

  “I’m Keith.” Keith offered a hand awkwardly. 

  Pidge laughed, taking his hand and firmly shaking it. “Well, Keith, it’s nice to meet you. Again.”

The harsh drone of the bell surprised them both into dropping each other’s hand, looking sharply at the teacher, who smiled at them. “Hello, students. Now that I can see that I have your attention, let’s get straight into business, shall we?” He overviewed the syllabus, ignoring the groans of complaint at the amount of assigned reading. He had each student write down two students they wouldn’t mind being sat near, and Keith put down Pidge and the wall. Hopefully the teacher, Mr. Thace, would understand that he meant the literal wall and not some weird nickname for another student. 

He let the students talk amongst themselves while he waited for all of the slips to come in. “So, what class do you have next?” Pidge asked, fidgeting with the charms on their phone that hung out of their pocket. 

  “Gym, you?”

  “Engineering.”

  “You said that that’s one of your favourite subjects, right?”

  “You remembered that?”

  “I mean, it was only an hour ago and you went right after I did, so, yeah. I’ve got a decent memory.”

  “Evidently.”

  Awkward silence.

  “So, I don’t exactly know anyone else here, I pretty much just moved here, uh…” Pidge trailed off, still fiddling with the space-themed charms on their phone case. 

  “Friends?” Keith offered. “I’m not exactly teeming with people skills, but...”

  “Friends.” Pidge smiled up at him. They were both saved from awkward silence by the jarring bell. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” Pidge said before rushing off.

The halls were entirely too bright, and they were packed with people who didn’t know where to go. Keith bumped into more than one person as he made his way to the gym, hoping that the teacher wasn’t crazy enough to make them change on the first day. Nobody looked familiar in this class, either.  _ Damn. _ He looked around for his teacher, making sure to sit in the right section of the bleachers. Student after student came in, and eventually the bell rang without a single person in the large gymnasium that looked remotely familiar. 

“I’m Mr. Cendak, your PE 1 teacher. I’ll be calling you alphabetically by last name, so listen and just say ‘here’ when you hear yours. If I pronounce it wrong, I apologise.” He squinted at the first name. “Nyma… uh… Nyma?”

  A girl with delicate features raised her hand and gave him her last name; it was something long and complicated that Keith couldn’t even remember the beginning of. The list went on, student after student raising their hands. “Keith Kogane?” Mr. Cendak pronounced his last name wrong, but that was something Keith was used to. 

  “Here. Kogane.” Keith offered the correct pronunciation, watching Mr. Cendak write something down and mutter his name. 

Someone with dark hair and an oversized jacket slipped into a spot on the edge of the bleachers as Mr. Cendak continued. “You’re late.” He pointed out.

  “The name’s Lance. Lance McClain.”

  “Well, McClain, you’re late.” 

  “I got lost.”

  “Don’t do it again.” There was a pause before Mr. Cendak continued with roll call. He didn’t call Lance’s name. “Is there anyone I didn’t call?”

  Lance raised his hand. “You didn’t call me.” 

  “Well I knew you were here, so I didn’t feel the need.” Mr. Cendak and Lance stared at each other for what felt like the most intense five seconds to ever exist, the tension in the corner of the room palpable while the other students looked nervously at each other. 

Mr. Cendak broke the silence after Lance looked away. “You’ll be assigned lockers by last name. I’ll give you your locker number tomorrow, when you bring a lock and your uniform. We dress every day. We will have several units. The first is just to gauge your skills and competitive drive, so that I can put you into a few different partners, so we will be doing minigames and in the weight room, and you’ll do a self-assessment in addition to my assessment.” Mr. Cendak looked up at the clock. “Tardiness won’t be tolerated. You will be permitted three excused school absences, and everything after that must be made up. If it’s excused, you can make it up for full credit. Unexcused absences can be made up, but only for half credit. If you make it a habit to be unexcused from my class, I will have to have a talk about it with you, and that will just be uncomfortable for everyone so let’s avoid that. Are there any questions?” Mr. Cendak hardly even paused before continuing. “Every day you change, you’ll run laps to warm up. No complaining. According to schedule, we will be doing the pacer test next Tuesday.” He paused for the groans of complaint to die down. “Yes, yes, I know, but at least we can get it out of the way. We do five of them; one at the start of each quarter, and one at the end of the year, to gauge progress. There’s also the push up test, sit up test, sit and reach, and body composition. If you miss any of them, you have to make it up immediately. The full instructions on how to make up absences are on this sheet, and it’s also posted on the bulletin boards in each locker room. It should be on the purple cardstock, but it also has my name at the top if you forget.” He looked at the other gym teachers in the room. “Alright, I’ll take the boys to their locker room, and Ms. Haggar over there will take the girls to theirs. Let’s go.”

Everyone got up, some grabbing their stuff and others leaving it behind. The boys and girls split, both getting a tour of where they would be changing for the year. “Now, the swim locker room is by the pool, but it’s laid out similarly, other than a few things. You’ll see it soon enough though, it’s our second unit. You have to wear proper attire, which for the boys means swimming trunks. You are encouraged, but not required, to wear a shirt and/or goggles.” While halfheartedly listening to the teacher, Keith couldn’t help but notice Lance break out into a grin.  _ Either he’s a swimmer or a sadist, _ he thought to himself amidst the groans of complaint. “There’s another swim unit second semester, but that’s a bit far in the future.” Mr. Cendak continued. “Each unit will generally last two or three weeks, so don’t worry. Everyone will have a unit they excel at, and everyone will have a unit they aren’t great at.” He hardly took a breath before continuing. “When you get in the locker room at the start of the period, you have to change. You are to all be out into the gymnasium or wherever we are meeting by five minutes after the bell. You can bring a waterbottle with you, but you are responsible for making sure it’s out of the way and for picking it up at the end of the period. If you have an inhaler, use it. You’re in highschool, I’m not going to explain every little thing to you. If you forget where we are meeting on any given day, you can either come find me in the office, or by the door, or you can ask a classmate. Are there any questions?” No hands raised. “Continuing on, then. Over there are the showers, over there are the bathrooms, over here are the changing stalls if you choose to use them, and there are water fountains over there. Would you like to see your lockers now so that I don’t have to deal with twenty of you coming up to me tomorrow to be shown them?” Blank stares. “My class, we are using the lockers in this section. Alphabetically, they start here.” Mr. Cendak proceeded to rattle off names as he walked by each locker. “Let’s head back out, the girls should be done by now. If you aren’t in my class, some of what I’ve just said doesn’t pertain to you and you have to ask your teacher. Regardless, you’re all going to forget this by tomorrow.” 

He led the boys out of the locker room, returning to his section of the bleachers. The girls were already there. “Every day, we will be sitting on the floor for warm up stretched and attendance, so don’t get too attached to these bleachers.” The teacher glanced up at the clock. “We only have five minutes left, so talk amongst yourselves. If any of you have any doctor’s notes, please bring them to me now. In the future, find me at the start of the period before I start teaching and give it to me then.” 

Everyone started chatting with their friends while Keith pulled out his phone. 

 

**KEITH:** Mr. Cendak is Satan.

**KEITH:** I swear, he’s not the worst gym teacher I’ve ever had, but he’s shaping up to be i t oretty quickly

**KEITH:** *it pretty

**SHIRO:** Yeah I’ve heard he sucks

**KEITH:** Sucks!?!? That’s the biggest understatement

**SHIRO:** Never had him

**KEITH:** You lucky bitch

**SHIRO:** Don’t hate me bc I’m beautiful

**KEITH:** Shit up, Mr. Lion

**SHIRO:** Shit up? That sounds difficult

**KEITH:** *Shut up. 

 

The bell rang, Keith shoving his phone back into his pocket and throwing his bag over his shoulder. He tried ignoring Lance, who didn’t seem to know anybody in this class, shockingly. He really just wanted to stare as Lance walked away, and that’s what he did until the olive jacket disappeared into the swarm of people trying to leave the building. He shoved his way through the crowd to the cafeteria, silently noting that he had to bring earbuds tomorrow so that he could listen to music in the halls instead of loud, obnoxious prattle. Shiro was already leaning against the wall outside of it, taller than most of the other students and scanning the crowd for Keith. 

  “Ready to leave?” He asked when Keith got over to him.

  “Never been more ready in my entire life.”

  “Let’s go.”

The two headed out of the doors with the masses, making their way to the bus with their ID’s. It was a good thing that they lived near each other, or Keith would have to be one of those people that rode the bus sitting next to a stranger. They showed the driver the little printed number on the corner of the ID, finding a seat towards the back but not far back enough for it to be uncomfortable. The seat was a bit crammed with their bags and their bodies, but not uncomfortably so. “How was your first day?” 

  “Oh, you know me, I’m already super popular and everyone loves me.” Keith replied sarcastically.

  “Wow, you’re going to have to carry an umbrella.” Shiro said, getting only a quizzical look from Keith. “To fend them off.”

  “Oh, definitely.”

  “Seriously, though, how was it?”

  “Well, there’s this person in my chem and my English class who doesn’t hate me, so we’re friends I guess?”

  “Name?”

  “Pidge.”

  “Did you end up knowing anyone else in your afternoon classes?”

  “Well, there’s this complete fuckass of a guy who I have chemistry with and gym.”

  “You’ve got chemistry with a lot of people, eh? Is he at least good looking?” Shiro elbowed Keith gently in the side.

  “Not like that, jeez.”

  “But is he good looking?”

  “He’s… he’s pretty okay.”

  Shiro laughed. “Just okay? Because you’re blushing.”

  “It’s hot in this bus.”

  “Sure it is.”

  “It is!”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Shiro dismissed him with a wave. “I’ll drop it for now, loverboy.”

  “I’m not-” Keith protested, taking a deep breath and lowering his voice. “I’m not a loverboy. I’m not some hopeless romantic who flings themselves into some stupid attraction to a fuckboy that will never work out.”

  “Yeah, you totally didn’t tell me that you wanted to ask someone out with a bouquet of red roses and an orchestra. You would never even step near a rose, and you certainly never look at them wistfully when we pass by the florist.” Shiro retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm. 

  “I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Keith feigned innocence.

  “Admit it, you’ve planned on going in there and asking for a job.”

  “I thought we were dropping this subject?”

  “Fine, fine.”

There was a long pause before Keith spoke again. “So, how was your second first day?”

  “It went well, a few of my friends are in my classes so it’s pretty fun. I have the shittiest teacher for physics, though. She’s so… ugh.” 

The bus started moving while the two talked about Shiro’s day, and a bit more about Keith’s. Eventually, it got to their stop. “Tomorrow?” Keith said as the two started to part ways.    
  “I’ll see you at the stop.” Shiro smiled. He understood Keith not wanting to hang out; it had probably been an incredibly overwhelming day for him, and he probably just wanted to be alone in the quiet for a bit. “Text me if you need anything, I’ll probably be home all night.”

  “I will, and you too.” Keith replied before he headed straight to his house. He unlocked the front door, greeted by silence. His adoptive parents both worked until late during the week, and his adoptive sister was already back at college a few states away. His shoes joined the line of pairs, and he headed upstairs to his room. He grabbed his laptop from where it rested on his desk, opening it up and logging in after plopping down onto his bed. He hadn’t powered it down in a while, so all of his tabs were still sitting and waiting to be reopened or closed. He got his e-mails out of the way before curling up on his side and clicking through videos of music, of people talking, of fencing matches. After growing bored of this fairly quickly, he switched to Netflix and flipped through show after show, trying to find one that looked like a good distraction from the hellish day that he had just had. More importantly, something that would distract him from wondering what Lance’s ass looked like under that awful jacket.  _ Blue would have looked better on him _ , Keith thought absentmindedly.

After a few episodes of the show he had clicked on at random,  _ Gilmore Girls _ , Keith grew bored again and decided that he might as well get his bag packed tomorrow with everything from the various syllabuses he had received. Gym uniform, lock, binders, spiral notebooks, folders, and his planner all joined the singular notebook and folder. Somehow, he managed to squeeze his pencil bag into the bulging bag. His parents came home, he had dinner, and he laid awake and waited to finally fall asleep.

_ Insomnia, you bitch. _


	2. Galaxy Minds

Morning came. Keith had hardly gotten any sleep, but he dragged himself out of bed groggily, throwing clothing on before heading into the bathroom. His hair was impossibly tangled, pointing every which way. The sun was hardly rising as he turned on the water, waiting until it was hot enough to raise steam in the chill of the air conditioning. Awake and with hair tamed, Keith went back into his room to throw on clothing. Black v-neck t-shirt, black jeans, red flannel. He just wanted to be comfortable. He grabbed his bag, heading down the stairs. “Morning,” he said to his parents. Over the course of the five years he had lived with them, they’d fallen into a rhythm. He would wake up, shower, come down for breakfast, go to school, come home, do as he pleased for a few hours, and depending on the day he would either make himself dinner or have dinner with his parents. Go to bed, wake up, repeat. Weekends were a bit different, especially when one or both parents were off. The same went for school breaks. Whenever everyone was free, it was a rule that they had to spend time together and do something. Today, though, was Keith’s second day of school. He sat down at the kitchen table once he had poured himself a bowl of cereal and made himself a cup of tea, sipping the tea as it cooled and eating the cereal. His father flipped through the newspaper, eating a bagel and drinking his coffee black.

“Your mom had to go into work early,” he said over the newspaper. 

  “Ah, that explains it.”

  “What time do you have to catch the bus?”

  “Uh… five minutes from now.”

  “Okay, I should probably get going then. I’ll see you when I get home from work if you’re still up.”

  “Sounds good, Dad.”

  “Have a great day, I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

Keith finished his breakfast, grabbing his bag from where it laid on the floor and leaving the house. He made sure the door was locked before heading to the bus stop, grateful that Shiro was already there. “Hey,” Shiro greeted.

  “Hey.”

  “Did you sleep at all?”

  “A bit. Not enough, but a bit.”

  “I hope you get more sleep tonight,” Shiro was clearly concerned with his insomniatic friend. 

  “Okay, Dad.”

  “And eat your vegetables.” 

  Keith rolled his eyes. “I repeat: okay, Dad.”

  Shiro laughed a bit, once again glad that Keith went to school with him again. It hadn’t been very fun standing and waiting for the bus alone. It would be especially fun in the winter, when he could use Keith’s body heat for all it was worth. Right now, though, the air was stiflingly hot with humidity that made their shirts cling to their bodies, the sun already beating down on the pair. When they got on the bus, it was even worse; everyone talking animatedly to each other did nothing for Keith’s headache, and the bodies raised the heat. At least people mostly had their windows down, so there was some fresh air. 

Keith would be lying if he said he didn’t dread his afternoon classes; he had already gotten assignments in every class by the time he met up with Shiro for lunch, and the thought of seeing Lance wasn’t all that appealing when even thinking of him seemed to twist Keith’s stomach. However, he would be an even bigger liar if he said he wasn’t at least a little bit excited. Shiro could tell something was off about him, but decided to not push it. At least for the time being. The cafeteria was loud and overwhelming, even more so than the day before, and Keith felt himself missing the much smaller lunchroom his middle school had sported, one that doubled as an auditorium with a little stage that wasn’t even a quarter of the size of this school’s. Back then, there wasn’t much of a hubbub as everyone ate. Here, it felt like the entire school was crammed into one room, despite it only being about a sixth of the student body. Keith didn’t even bother with looking for Lance in the massive amount of people. He was growing restless from sitting in desks all day long, and looked forward to the last period of the day. 

Chemistry brought lab partner assignments, which would be the same throughout the year from what Mr. Coran and Shiro had both said. Hopefully,  _ hopefully _ , Keith would get assigned to work with Pidge. They were crazy smart, from what he could tell, and seemed like a hard worker. Working with Lance would be fun, but he didn’t seem like the most intelligent person Keith had ever met. The rest of the class, Keith had absolutely no opinion on. 

“Alright, students! Time to find out who you will have to work well with to do well in this class! When I call your names, take note of the lab table I’ve assigned you to.” He looked at the students to make sure that they were listening. “Okay, at lab table one on the window side, Pidge Holt and Hunk… I’m working on your last name, I promise.” Pidge and Hunk went over to their table, sitting down on the stools. Keith’s heart sank a bit; so much for his original plan. “At the same table, on the door side, Keith Kogane and Lance McClain.” The way he said Keith’s last name was like it was a question, to which Keith nodded before heading over to his lab station. 

_ At least I’m near Pidge. Maybe they'll help us.  _ He hoped that Lance wouldn't make an ass of himself, and that maybe they could be friends. It was unlikely that he was anything but straight, but being friends would be better than nothing at all. At the very least, hopefully Keith and Lance could tolerate each other. Lance sat down, smiling at him. “The name’s Lance.” He stuck out a hand to Keith. 

  “Keith.” He shook the hand.

Mr. Coran continued to tell people whom they were paired with, waiting until everyone had taken their seats with their partner before he spoke again. “From now on, with the exception of tests and quizzes, you won't be sitting in your desks. You can put your bags there, but other than that you will learn to love the lab tables, and each other. For the next ten minutes, talk to your partner. When I say to, you're going to introduce your partner to the rest of your table. Tomorrow, you’ll be doing those introductions for the class. Have fun!”

  Internally, Keith groaned. He hated doing introductions; they were always just small talk. Lance, on the other hand, loved introductions. “So, we have gym together, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “God, that teacher seems like a stick up the ass. Do you do any sports?”

  “I fence. You?” Keith knew Lance was a swimmer; it had been painfully clear the day prior, when he had got that mixture of sadism and masochism on his face after the swimming unit was mentioned. 

  “I swim. Backstroke and butterfly, competitively. Free sometimes, for fun. Never breast though, I'm too tall. Fencing is the thing with the swords and beekeeper helmets, yeah?”

  “Uh, swords, yes. But we don't really wear beekeeper helmets, there's a big difference. I specialise in sabre, though.” 

  “That must be a lot of fun, stabbing people.”

  “It's… Well, with sabre you can also slice, so that’s also fun.”

  “Hmm, that does sound fun.”

  “So… ”

  “When’s your birthday?”

  “April third. You?”

  “August twentieth. So, you’re an Aries, then?”

  “I’m not really sure, but if you say so. You like astrology?”

  “Yeah, I think it’s pretty cool. I mean, it’s not always accurate, but sometimes it is. You don’t?”

  “I never really saw much of a point in it. Always seemed really stupid to me.” Keith mentally cursed himself as soon as he saw Lance’s face had fallen. “I mean, not that it’s stupid, I just… how do you even memorise the dates? And how does your birthday effect your personality that much? I mean, I’ve met people who have birthdays close to mine, but they never seem even close to me. And what’s with the cup thing, where people are two different ones? One time, my friend tried to explain to me his full chart or something, and I couldn’t even understand half of what he said.” That had been a fun day with Shiro.

  “I mean, how do you memorise the different weird French words for fencing? It’s just practice. And yeah, everyone is different, but there are shared traits. And I think you mean cusps, not cups, which is when someone’s birthday is within a few days of the next sign’s start. It’s actually really cool, they usually are just both signs combined and sometimes it can be really contradictory. Have you ever looked at a horoscope or one of those things that describes the different signs?” Lance always got a bit hurt when someone said that something he liked was stupid, but at least Keith tried to recover from it. “A lot of people think it’s stupid and that I should spend more time studying or whatever, but I like it.”

  “What are you, then?”

  “What?”

  “What’s your sign?”

  “Oh, I’m a Leo.”

  “Lance the Leo.”

  “That’s me.” Lance smiled at Keith. 

  “And I’m an… Aquarius?” Keith asked.  _ God, I could look at that smile all day. Holy shit, I’m really gay. Hey, that rhymed. _

__ “Aries.”

  “Aries?”

  “Yep!”

“Alright, now introduce your partner to your lab group!” Coran said.

  “This is Hunk,” Pidge started. “He likes to cook, but he also really loves engineering and helped start the robotics program at his middle school. They even managed to make it all the way to state last year, which involved a lot of different competitions, and they just barely didn’t go on to the next one. He doesn’t really have a favourite thing to cook, but he says he definitely loves making pastries and will take any excuse to make them.”

  “This is Pidge, who also loves engineering. However, she isn’t allowed near ovens because last time she was trying to bake she not only burned the cookies - which she told me were, indeed, from one of those tubes of premade cookie dough - but she also burned the oven mitts, caught the waxed paper on fire because she didn’t know you had to use parchment paper and not waxed, and burned her hair. She hasn’t gone near an oven since, because that wasn’t the first time that that had happened. Welding, though, she has no problem with.”

  Pidge looked more than a bit uncomfortable after the introduction. “Oh, I, uh, I actually use they/them.”

  Hunk nodded. “Okay, then they like welding. They didn’t really have a robotics program at their school, since they came from a smaller school, but their family is big into that kind of thing? Anyways, their dad works on space technology and exploration and stuff, and their brother wants to. Oh, they have a brother, Matt.” Pidge looked much more at ease once Hunk had switched to the proper pronouns, and smiled at him. 

  In the normal round-robin fashion, Keith was next. “This is Lance. He swims, backstroke and butterfly mostly. He really likes astrology, and he’s a Leo. I’m not sure what that means, but he is. Uh...”  _ He’s really pretty and his lips look really soft, and he seems like he would give really great hugs, and- not now, gay thoughts. _ “Uhh… we didn’t talk about much else.”

  “He’s Keith. He… he likes to do fencing, and he specializes in sabre. His birthday is April third, and that means he’s an Aries. He enjoys the slicing in sabre more than the stabbing, I think? We didn’t get as in depth as you guys did.”

  Pidge and Hunk listen attentively to the introductions of the second lab pair. “Well, do either of you have siblings?”

  “I have too many siblings to count,” Lance replied. “There’s… a lot of energy when you live with people ranging from two to twelve, with a newborn on the way, plus I’m fourteen, which means I’m the oldest and I have to babysit all the time. Well, with the exception of my two older siblings, who are four and five years older than me.”

  “I don’t have siblings, and my parents both work so it’s pretty quiet for me. What about you, Hunk?”

  “Oh, I have an older sister. I’m the only guy in the house, which means I’m surrounded by estrogen and one week out of each month is  _ hell _ . Not even that any of them get really weird, just their cravings do. One time, I was supposed to make chocolate croissants and when I got home from school all of the baking chocolate was gone. Turns out my moms had both had the day off, and planned on getting more chocolate from the store for me but completely spaced it out. We also have cats. We adopted this Maine Coon a couple months back when a friend asked my moms if they’d be willing to take her in, and she’s having kittens soon. We just hope the other cats in our house will react well; we have two others.”

  “Moms?” Keith inquired.

  “Oh, yeah, I have two moms.”

  “Do you ever get stuck in an endless loop of ‘go ask your mom’ or no?” Lance half-joked.

  “All the freakin’ time. It’s such a pain when they do that.” Hunk laughed. “What about you guys, any weird family thing?”

  “Well, I have a lot of siblings, which is a pain. My dad’s currently on a business trip, which means the house is super hectic because when he’s gone everyone bounces off the walls since he can’t be in conference calls in the next room.” Lance replied.

  “I just have the one brother, my mom, and my dad. Also a pet, but I don’t know if he counts as a pet since he’s a little robot that I built from parts I found at the junkyard. He’s got a nice coat of paint though, and we call him Rover.” Pidge was proud of their little frankenrobot, and all the work that they had put into him.

  “I have my two parents, who adopted me when I was nine. They both work a lot, but it’s alright. I don’t have any siblings or anything, but my best friend Shiro is like a brother to me. We’re looking to get a dog, but we don’t know yet; there are so many at the shelter that we love, so it’s just a matter of finding the right fit.”

  “Well, hey, if you end up wanting a cat, then feel free to think about maybe adopting one of the kittens. We’re not exactly sure of her litter size, but it’s not really likely that we’re going to keep all of them. It would be nice to know who has the ones that we can’t keep, so that we can still see them sometimes, you know?”

  “I’ll think about it, but it’s unlikely. My parents really want a dog. I’ll ask them, though.”

  “Cool!” Hunk beamed. 

  “When are your birthdays?” Lance asked. 

  “I'm January 13th,” Hunk said.

  “October 29th.” Pidge added.

  “Hunk, you're a Capricorn. Pidge, you're a Scorpio.” Lance told them. 

  “Astrology is really interesting, how the planets affect us. Especially when Mercury goes into retrograde and screws everyone over.” Pidge commented. 

  “Right? It's the best when it completely messes up someone you hate.” Lance grinned mischievously.

  Pidge matched him. “Oh, man, this one time my brother was being such a shit, but then something happened and the sky pretty much fell on him and it was great.” 

The group chatted about their best stories of people getting what was coming to them, peppered with stories of sports teams and different clubs. “God, I can't wait for the day to be over so that I can get into the air conditioning,” Lance complained. “Why does this school have to be so hot, it’s torture.”

  “It definitely is,” Pidge replied. “I hope that at some point the public school system takes pity on us and gets air conditioning.”

  “Right?” Keith looked up at the clock. “It’s almost time to go, though, which means we get to go to that ridiculously hot English room upstairs.”

  Pidge groaned. “I don’t want to, it’s way too stuffy up there. Maybe we can convince our teacher to let us do nothing. It’s too hot to work.”

  “I just hope we can go outside for gym,” Lance added, “the gym is so disgusting and maybe there’s at least a breeze outside.”

  “Well, at least you guys don’t have to be in the foods room. One word: ovens.” Hunk despised that he had to take the first year of Foods, but he had decided it would be worth it to do the other classes that he could take after it.

The bell rang as they continued to debate which classroom was the worst to be in at the end of the day. Pidge and Keith walked together to English, chatting about Mr. Thace and how they hoped that they would sit near each other. “Who did you put down for your other person?” Pidge asked as they climbed the stairs.

  “The wall,” Keith admitted sheepishly.

  “Me, too!” Pidge laughed. 

  “Well, that means one of us is going to be disappointed. We can’t both be next to the wall and each other.”

  “Unless one of us sits in front of the other.” 

  “Oh, true.”

  “Well, I hope that we at least sit near each other. Even if there isn’t a wall in the immediate vicinity.”

  “Me, too.” 

They stepped into Mr. Thace’s classroom, taking the same seats as before; the corner of the classroom, towards the door but not too close. It was even hotter in there than it had been yesterday; the windows were open, at least, but that didn’t change the oppressive humidity or the awful heat by much. The seating chart was up on the projector; a quick glance showed that the two were sitting next to each other in the back of the room. The pair smiled at each other; at least this class would be bearable, with the seating in a weird double-rowed U shape. They took their seats, the bell ringing almost immediately afterwards. Mr. Thace didn’t waste time, instantly started out with plopping books on desks. Keith picked it up, inspecting it. 

  “ _ To Kill A Mockingbird _ ,” Pidge muttered. “Weird, my brother did this at the end of last year.”

  “Yeah, same with Shiro.”

“Hello, students! How has your second day been? Decent, I hope? Not too hot?” Mr. Thace greeted, getting groans from the students in response. “I know, I know, but your day is almost over! Besides, it won’t be this hot forever. You’ll complain when it’s cold, I’m sure. You may notice that you now have a copy of  _ To Kill A Mockingbird _ . I’m going to give you the rest of your books, but do I have any volunteers to help me pass things out?” A few students raised their hands after a minute. “Wonderful. Your names?”

  “I’m Shay,” A tall girl commented. She was tan, as though she spent hours every day out in the sun. 

  “Alistair.”

  “Atlas.” The two looked very similar; freakishly so.  _ Twins? _

  “Fantastic. Shay, can you pass out  _ Romeo and Juliet _ ? Alistair, if you could take  _ The River King _ , and Atlas, please take  _ The Odyssey _ .” He waited for them to start passing out books. “Okay, when you get your book, please write your name, period, and Thace on it somewhere. It works best if you write it on the side, across the pages. The first page can be torn out of a book, but it’s harder to destroy the whole side. If you lose any of the books, you’re going to have to replace them.” He droned on about the curriculum, about the books that they would be reading and when they would be reading them. They had changed _ Mockingbird _ to be read at the beginning of the year instead of the end. Eventually, Keith zoned out. It was too hot to think. He drank water, which had melted down from being frozen through to lukewarm. It wasn’t as hot as he thought it would be, but still too warm to cool him down any. Hopefully, it would be gym soon; he kept telling himself it was because he wanted to go home, and not because there was someone he wanted to see.


	3. Freckle Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gym class is a fun time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to cheritsundere on tumblr! I was their Voltron Valentine, so here is part of their gift! Enjoy <3

The halls were just as crowded and disgusting as they had been the day prior. Keith practically held his breath as he ran down the stairs, trying to avoid the smell of sweat. Regrettably, though, the locker room was worse. He could hold his breath for a while, but not long enough. It was unclear which was worse: the overwhelming smell of sweat, or the overpowering cologne, both of which seemed to be fighting each other. The air was stagnant as could be, and Keith just checked in with Mr. Cendak to ensure that he had the right locker, heading over to it to get changed. Lance showed up pretty soon after he had started to change.   
“How are you?” Lance asked.   
“I’m alright, you?”  
Lance finger gunned. “Getting by.”  
“I’m glad.”  
Internally, Lance groaned quietly. Keith must’ve not understood what he meant, but it would be weird to explain it blatantly. “Do you think Cendak would have a problem with me wearing these?”   
He pointed at his various gel bracelets; a couple were different colours, one was for a band that Keith had never heard of, and the largest of them was three colours - Keith nearly screamed when he read it and it clicked. Getting Bi. Jesus fuck, Keith, you idiot, Keith internally chastised himself. “I don’t think he would, but you might want to take them off and ask him, just to be on the safe side. He would definitely yell at you for the earrings, though.” Nope, I don’t think that pierced ears are really attractive on him, nope, ignoring that, this isn’t a thing.  
“Damn, yeah, probably.” Lance took out his earrings, gingerly setting them in the center of all of his bracelets on the top shelf of his gym locker. Keith stopped looking at him while they both changed into their gym clothes. “So, you excited for our first unit?”  
Keith rolled his eyes. “Ah, yeah, nothing I love more than the good old Pacer test. You?”  
“I’m excited for it to be over, if that counts.”  
“Oh, yeah, the swimming unit’s next.”  
“Yep.” Lance grinned. “Can’t wait to have that walk in the park. If only there was a fencing unit for you.”  
“Nah, too many idiots with swords wouldn’t be good. Plus, it wouldn’t be fun. It’s too easy to beat beginners, and I don’t want to hurt anyone.”   
“Oh, that’s true.” Lance paused. “Yeah… not everyone is skilled with a knife.”  
“We should probably head out,” Keith said after a minute. “Wouldn’t want to get on Cendak’s bad side.”  
“With a mug like that, I don’t think he has a good side.” Lance grumbled, locking up his stuff and waiting or keith to do likewise. The two left the locker room, heading over to the area everyone else seemed to be in. Mr. Cendak walked out eventually, blowing a whistle to get everyone’s attention. “Alright, I’m going to put you into rows by last name. Remember where I put you so that I don’t have to repeat myself.” He gestured as he went through, pointing where people were supposed to go. It was Keith, a couple of girls, and then Lance. When he had everyone in their rows, thus began warm-ups.   
“As if we aren’t warm enough!” Lance remarked to Keith when they were jogging. “I’ll race you.”  
“Nah, I want to stay as cool as I can, thanks much.” Keith replied.  
“It’s not a big deal if you just don’t want to lose.” Lance shrugged.  
“Oh, I wouldn’t lose.”  
“Prove it.” Lance dared.  
Keith didn’t even have to debate whether or not he wanted to do this. He was too competitive; he always had been. “Fine. We’ll start when we round the corner, no cheating. Whoever finishes the lap first wins.”  
Lance grinned. “Let’s go.”  
The two bottles of testosterone slowly jogged together as they approached the corner, getting ready to sprint. Their feet hit the gymnasium floor together one last time before they were off. Keith gave Lance one final sideways look before he decidedly took the lead, easily beating Lance. Lance, who was completely red in the face trying to catch up to Keith, out of breath completely while Keith slowly jogged after he finished his lap ten seconds before Lance was done. “What, out of your element?” Keith asked innocently. “Wait, did I forget to mention I run almost every morning?”  
“Screw- you-” Lance huffed out, though he was grinning. “Weird land... thing.” He vaguely gestured at Keith. “I’d beat you in the water.”  
Keith internally swooned at that smile; it’s like he steals all the light in the room with that smile or some other sappy-ass metaphor to say hot damn. “I’d beat you in a swordfight, though.”  
“Well not everyone decides to fight with swords, so probably. I could still lap you in the pool any day.”  
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Keith joked.  
Mr. Cendak blew the whistle, calling his students back over to him. “Okay, today is the sit up test. At least tomorrow is Friday, which means it’s almost the weekend.” He looked at his clipboard. “I need you all to partner up, and when you’ve got your partner go stand over there.” He pointed, and waited for everyone to partner up.   
“I bet I can beat you in this one. I could grate cheese on my abs.” Lance smirked.   
“Have you tried that?” Keith retorted. “Because if you did, and it worked, you might want to see a doctor. Abs aren’t made for that.”  
“Rude.” Lance pouted. “I’m definitely going to beat you in sit-ups.”  
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”   
“Follow the cadence, it’s self-explanatory.” Mr. Cendak said. “Your partner will be in charge of making sure that you don’t cheat, and will tell me your total. You have to have your fingers pass the blue line on the ground, and when you’re lying down they should be at the red line. Everyone ready?” He went over to the speakers, starting the audio. Lance went first, getting to the maximum number; a surprising amount of students did, or got close.   
“Think you can get that, mullet?” Lance challenged.  
“Oh, I know I can, freckle face.”  
Keith followed along with the unnatural voice, trying to do them as perfectly as he could. He did exercise, to keep in shape for fencing and to relieve stress, but he wanted to beat Lance. Whenever he found someone as competitive as he was, he couldn’t help it. By the time the cadence halted, he was sore and probably red in the face, but he didn’t care. At least he had tied with Lance.


	4. You Gay Nerd

After gym, Keith headed over to Shiro again. They headed off to the bus together, both sighing in relief when they could feel how the breeze had picked up since that morning. “So, any development with the boy you have chemistry with?”  
“My god, I thought that we had agreed to drop this subject.” Keith groaned.  
“I never agreed to drop it forever.”  
“Can we drop it again?”  
“Come on, just his name, please.”  
“Nope.”  
The two sat down on the bus. “Please?” Shiro begged, drawing it out as much as he could.  
“No.”  
“Keith,” Shiro’s voice cracked as he laid on top of Keith, who was trapped between him and the window that offered very little ventilation.   
“Shiro, get off of me, it’s too hot for this.”  
“Just tell me his name and I’ll get off of you.”  
“This should be considered cruel and unusual punishment.” Keith tried to push Shiro off, but wasn’t being successful. “Get off!”  
“What’s his name?”  
“I’m not telling you.”  
“If you tell me then I’ll get off of you.”  
“Ugh, Shiro, you’re sweaty.” Keith said with distaste.   
“Tell me his name, and I’ll get off of you and I’ll stop bothering you about him for today.”  
“Promise?” If it meant that Shiro’s warmer-than-possible body would be even a bit further from him, then it would be worth it.  
“Of course. I’m a man of my word.”  
“Fine.” Keith sighed.   
Shiro clapped quietly. “So, what is it?”  
“How about I tell you once we’re off the bus? I promise I’ll tell you, I just… I don’t want other people to hear.”  
“Okay, fine. But if you don’t tell me, I’m going to lay on top of you for the next two days, in the morning and afternoon.”  
“Fine, fine.” Keith took a deep breath after Shiro sat up. “Thank you.”  
“So, today I found out that my friend Matt is actually the older brother of your friend, Pidge.”  
“Matt Holt?”  
“Yeah, the one and probably only.”  
People tried to move past the two of them, causing Shiro to move close to Keith again. It felt like the temperature rose with every person added to the already-cramped bus. Some people clearly didn’t get the memo that their windows opened, or perhaps they had no concept of temperature, but either way Keith wanted to personally bitchslap each and every one of them. This is faster than walking, it’s faster than walking, it’s faster than walking and I’ll be in air conditioning soon, with a cold glass of water. Keith had to keep repeating this internally, trying to not scream when someone shrieked. It was way too loud for his liking.   
“Wow, I’m a dumbass, that’s not a very common last name, and I should have made the connection between how freakishly similar they looked to each other. And that Pidge mentioned their brother, Matt. Huh.” Keith tried to refocus on the conversation when he realised he had been quiet for a bit longer than usual.   
“So, you already knew?” Shiro asked, after he paused to give Keith a weird look.  
“I had a hunch, but I wasn’t positive.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me?”  
“I just found out today that they had a brother.”  
“Ah, okay. He talks about them a lot.”  
“I’m sure that that’s reciprocated, from what I’ve heard them say about him the two seem to have a good relationship.”  
“That’s good.”  
Shiro looked at Keith, who seemed to be unfocused. It was loud in the bus, and too hot, and that could be what was distracting his friend. Or, it could be something else. “Keith, are you okay?”  
“Huh?”  
“You’re completely zoning out.”  
“It’s just really hot. And loud. Very, very loud.”   
“Okay.”  
Both of them were undoubtedly relieved when the bus started moving; it made the air move easier, made breathing easier. It meant that, hopefully soon, they would both be in air conditioning. “How about I come home with you?”  
“What?” Keith shook his head a bit before turning his head from looking longingly out of the window to look back at Shiro.  
“You’re spacier than usual.”   
“I’m fine,” Keith insisted, though he could tell that Shiro was already in Concerned Dad Mode, “it’s just hotter than usual.”  
“Please? If not for your own sake, then for mine. You’re being weird.”  
Keith had known Shiro for far too long to be foolish enough to think that Shiro wouldn’t just follow him home if he said no. “Okay, fine.”  
“Thank you.” Shiro offered a reassuring smile. “It’ll be fun, and I promise I won’t force you to do your homework or whatever.”  
Keith nodded, closing his eyes for a minute. Shiro unzipped his bag, pulling out the water bottle he had. It was still cold, one of the perks he found in having an insulated bottle. “Hey, drink water.” He said, gently poking Keith with the cold metal.  
“I‘m not thirsty,” Keith shook his head. “I’ve been drinking water all day.”  
“Well, then hold this against the back of your neck or something to cool down.”   
“Okay.” Keith took the bottle, hoping that by pressing it to the nape of his neck he would cool off a bit. “Thank you.”  
“No problem.”  
The two of them sat in silence until the bus pulled up to their stop, at which point Shiro poked Keith to get his attention before standing up to get off of the bus. The dark grey leather of the seat stuck to his leg, painfully ripping away from the backs of his thighs as he tried to leave without losing half of his flesh. Keith was, for arguably the millionth time that day, thankful that he had worn the same tight black pants he usually wore. It kept the seats from sticking to him, and he could wear his short boots. He was used to being covered up; fencing was a sport that highly encouraged that. He was fairly certain that Lance had just been wearing that oversized green jacket the day before for fashion purposes, which made him both strong-willed and idiotic in Keith’s eyes. Wow, thinking about Lance again? How many times in the past five minutes is that, you gay nerd?  
“So?” Shiro asked.  
“So what?”  
“What’s this guy’s name?”  
Keith fished keys out of his pockets. “When we get inside.”  
A huge, shit-eating grin, slowly spread across Shiro’s face. “That’s a really weird name, are you sure you didn’t mishear him? Maybe you should get your hearing checked, or maybe it’s like that time you thought a guy said his name was-”  
“For the love of all that is holy, Shiro.”  
“Or when you thought my name was-”  
“Oh, my god, Shiro, how many times do I have to apologise? It was loud when you were introducing yourself to me, and I know that there are weird names out there, and I was new to the area, it’s not my fault that I thought your name was Cheeto.”  
“And the time you thought there was a jeweler named ‘Gay’?” Shiro followed Keith inside, shutting the door behind himself and kicking off his shoes.   
“Simple mishearing, the brand is ‘Kay’.”  
Shiro thought for a moment as he headed into the kitchen with Keith. “How about that poor girl, the one you thought was named-”  
“Lance. For the love of god, his name is Lance.” Keith blurted out.  
“Ooooh, Lance.” Shiro teased.  
Keith, who had been cooling down and losing the red that the heat had struck into his face, was suddenly bright red again. “You said you wouldn’t mock me.”  
“I’m not mocking, I just want to make sure I know the name of your future husband.”  
“Oh my god, he’s not my future husband-” Keith buried his face in his hands, elbows resting heavily on the kitchen table.   
“But you want him to be,” Shiro wiggled his eyebrows.  
Keith said nothing, merely folding his arms in front of himself and resting his head on them before screaming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long to post ;~; I'm working on making the next chapters longer to make it up, though!


	5. Sparks

 

The next weeks of chemistry were spent on safety measures, the students being quizzed on the procedures and needing to sign a safety contract. Keith and Lance got a bit closer, and both were nervous for when labs started and they had to deal with Pidge and Hunk being partners. Keith and Lance shared a nervous look as Mr. Coran introduced the lab to them; it was just a simple, getting-to-know-the-equipment sort of lab; there was fire, and mild chemicals, but not much else. 

“Fire?” Lance mouthed at Keith, who nodded in response. Simultaneously, they looked over at Pidge, who looked thrilled. Hunk, on the other hand, looked apprehensively at his lab partner.

Mr. Coran finished introducing the lab, letting the students get started and walking around the room as they all worked. Pidge instantly turned on the gas and lit the bunsen burner, doing everything so fast and then grinning at the flame with an expression Keith could probably only describe as a mix of hunger and excitement. The flames glinted brightly against their glasses, and they looked like a mad scientist with their wild hair and wide eyes.

“I wanna light the burner!” Lance told Keith, who nodded and handed him the long-stemmed lighter. He clicked the trigger.  _ Nothing. _ He clicked it again; Keith glanced over from gathering up the other materials and noted that he wasn’t pushing down on the safety, but decided to see if he would figure it out for himself. Lance kept clicking frustratedly, growing increasingly more irritated as time went on. “Hey, Keith, this one isn’t working,” he complained.

  “Here, let me try.”

  Lance handed over the lighter begrudgingly. “Okay, but I don’t think it’s going to- oh.” He cut himself off when Keith lit the burner with ease. “It must’ve just been temperamental.”

  “Sure,” Keith teased, “or it’s just the child lock.” He pointed out where it was on the lighter.  _ Wow, Keith, what a great flirt, showing him the child lock. _ “You have to push down on it while you pull the trigger.” He handed it back to Lance, watching him struggle with it again. “No, like this.” He moved Lance’s hand so that he could actually put pressure on the safety and pull the trigger. “It works best with two hands.”  _ Don’t you dare blush, idiot. _

  “Oh, that makes more sense. I’ve only ever used the normal lighters and matches.”

  “Hopefully supervised.” Keith let go of his hands, watching him successfully spark the lighter. 

  “Hey, I can handle fire on my own!”

  Keith gave him a skeptical look. “I doubt it,” he joked. “You seem dangerous, to leave around fire I mean.”

  “Listen, I make kickass bonfires.” Lance smiled at Keith, an idea popping into his head. “You should come to one sometime!”

  “I would if they were real,” Keith deadpanned. “We should probably focus on the lab, though.”

  “Okay,” Lance huffed, “what are we supposed to do with the fire?”

  “Uh… we light the burner?”

  “And then what?”

  “Dude, the instructions are right in front of you.”

  “You heat up the water,” Hunk commented, already onto measuring out salt, which was what felt like a hundred steps ahead.

  “Thank you, Hunk.” Lance replied.

  “Okay, just light the burner, you’re wasting lighter fluid,” Keith complained.

  “The gas isn’t on?”

  “It’s not?”

  “No, you have to connect the tubey thingy and then start the gas.”

  “Why didn’t you do that before you lit the lighter?”

  “Because I was having problems lighting it. Will you just turn on the gas?”

Keith connected the burner hose to the gas nozzle, turning it on and watching with satisfaction as Lance finally lit it. The rest of the lab wasn’t as rocky, but certainly not as smooth as Hunk and Pidge were. Class ended without any explosions, and only some broken glass. Mr. Coran tried to tell them that it was best to learn how to dispose of glass early on. Nobody was injured, after all. The lack of blood surprised Keith, since the glass had all but exploded when they had put water in it. Mr. Coran also took the opportunity to tell the class again that they couldn’t put cold water in hot glass. Keith felt like hiding inside of himself, not a fan of being exactly where everyone had turned to look when they heard the telltale noise of glass absolutely shattering.

Gym, it seemed, wasn’t going to go much better. The fitness testing had been finished up the week prior, with the tie of the sit-up tests being followed by Lance winning the push-up test and pacer, and Keith winning at the sit-and-reach. Truly, Keith was pissed that Lance beat him at running; he was supposed to be a water freak, and Keith ran every morning; or, at least, he was supposed to. He decided he would have to pick it up again. However, with the conclusion of the fitness unit, the swimming unit had commenced. And, of course, Keith had long enough hair to be pulled back into a ponytail and was therefore required to somehow get it into a swim cap. He enjoyed being in the water enough to not completely despise jumping into what felt like a freezing cold body of water with what felt like five million strangers, but he wasn’t good at it by any stretch of the imagination. It was the fifth day of the swimming unit, and therefore the fifth day of Keith trying desperately to cram his mullet into a cap, and also the fifth day of Keith realising Lance gave approximately zero fucks about modesty. He seemed to be out of his clothes and into his suit in the time it took Keith to just take off his left sock, and he had short enough hair to not warrant a cap. 

“Wow, Princess, you sure do take a while,” Lance greeted when Keith finally got to the bleachers by the pool. Keith didn’t have the time to shoot back a witty response before Mr. Cendak blew his whistle to start the class, effectively silencing any further remarks that Lance could make. Luckily, they were all split into groups based on swimming ability, so Keith didn’t have to try and deal with that egomaniac on his home turf. If only there was a fencing unit; maybe stabbing Lance was the answer to his problems? For now, though, he only had to avoid drowning, and avoid looking at Lance in the locker room. He knew that somehow, he would find Lance’s athletic weakness, and then he would win. It would be harder for Lance to avoid Keith then than it was for Keith to avoid him now; after all, Keith had lane lines, he wouldn’t. 

Keith did, however, have to deal with him complaining about Nyma after class every day.

“She always tries to upstage me!” Lance grumbled.

  “Well, maybe that’s because it’s easy to do,” Keith suggested, finally freeing his hair from the too-tight swim cap.

  “Says the level two swimmer!” Lance retorted, already changed and toweling off his hair.

  “Dude, if there was a level six, then face it, she would be it.” Keith peeled off his wet trunks, wringing them out and changing back into his clothes. 

  “I would totally beat her.”

  “Not with as much grace.”

  “She’s just trying to show off. And besides, you’ve never even seen me swim. I’m graceful,” Lance crooned.

  “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Keith started to walk out of the locker room.

  “Then come see it!” Lance suggested.

  “Okay, I’ll come to your next meet.”

  “Ugh, those don’t start until December. Come to the pool with me, it’s still warm enough to go to an outdoor one for people who aren’t used to morning practice,” he persisted.

  “Pools aren’t really my style...” 

  “The beach, then! Come to the beach with me.”

  “I don’t know...”

  “What, beaches aren’t your style either? Do you just hate fun? Come on, it’ll be great. How about this weekend?”

  “I mean-”

  “Great, it’s a plan! See you, mullet.” Lance ruffled Keith’s water-matted hair before practically skipping off to wherever he went after school ended. Keith could practically feel his heart skip a few beats at the same time, wondering vaguely if he had agreed to go to the pool or the beach, or if he had agreed to anything at all. 

 

\-------

 

“So, you’re going on a date?” Shiro asked, after Keith explained the day’s events while sitting at his kitchen table and eating popcorn.

  “No, it’s not a date,” Keith replied, “he clearly just wants to show off.”

  “But he wants to show off to you?”

  “No! Yes? Ugh, I don’t know,” Keith groaned.

  “Let’s move to the couch,” Shiro suggested, grabbing the bowl of popcorn. “Explain it to me again.”

  “He broke some glass in chem, which isn’t important to this, at least I don’t think it is. Then, in gym class, he called me Princess because I take too long in the locker room I guess? And afterwards he was ranting about Nyma, as usual, because she just kinda does anything he can do but she does it better I guess? But, anyways, then I said that it’s probably because she’s way more graceful than he is, and he said that he’s super graceful, and I said that I’ll believe it when I see it, and he said that I should come with him to the pool, I said pools aren’t my style, he said the beach, and then he didn’t give me a chance to say no before saying it was a plan.”

  “So, wait, are you going to the pool or to the beach?” Shiro inquired, munching on popcorn while Keith spoke as though he was a movie.

  “I don’t know!” Keith exclaimed. “He didn’t really specify which one it was, or where, or exactly when.”

  “Maybe he was asking you out? I mean, no offense, but you can be kind of dense sometimes.”

  “I think I would know if he asked me out,” Keith defended.

  “Okay, so are you going to talk to him about it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you could just  _ ask _ him if it’s supposed to be a date.”

  “Shiro, that would be the most embarrassing thing I could ever do.” 

  “Why?”

  “You know why.”

  “Not really.”

  “Would you ask someone if they just asked you out on a date?”

  “I mean-” Shiro sighed. “Probably?”

  “Speaking of, how’s Matt?” Keith asked, trying to get the subject off of himself.

Shiro calmly moved the popcorn onto the table before dramatically throwing himself into Keith’s lap. “He’s so frustrating!”

  “Maybe you’re just not flirting hard enough?” Keith teased.

  “Maybe it’s because he has a girlfriend?” Shiro shot back.

  “Fair enough. How is his girlfriend doing?”

  “She’s fine, I guess. I’d be better for him, though.”

  “I know you would be.” Keith patted Shiro’s hair fondly. “Hey, what did you do to your hair? It’s softer than usual.”

  “I deep conditioned.”

  “Ooooh, fancy.”

  “Yeah, I was feeling it last night.”

  “It’s very soft, I approve.”

  “Good to know.”

  “I bet Matt would approve, too. Maybe I should call him over here.”

  “Don’t you dare, or I’ll find a way to call Lance over here.”

  “You don’t have his number.”

  “You don’t have Matt’s.”

  “Yeah, but you do.”

  “Yeah, in my phone, which I have.” Shiro patted his pocket confidently before patting it again with confusion. 

  Keith held up Shiro’s phone. “Looking for this?” 

  “You have to stop this whole pickpocketing thing. Give it back.”

  “Hmmm, what’s this? Oh, it looks like it’s ringing!” Keith teased, holding it as far away from Shiro as he could. 

  “Give it back!” Shiro jumped up and tried to grab the phone from Keith, who quickly pulled it towards his core, curling up around it. He laughed as Shiro tried to get it away, tickling him in the process. 

“Hello?” A voice came from the phone, but neither heard it as they wrestled around, Shiro eventually getting the phone back. 

  “Hey, Matt,” Shiro said between puffs of air, trying to catch his breath. Keith covered his mouth so that he didn’t giggle loud enough for his best friend’s other best friend to hear. 

  “What’s up?” 

  “Oh, not much, just chilling. What about you?”

  “Doing some homework. Hey, do you want to work on the Physics project together? I know it’s easy stuff, but it’s tedious and it would probably be a whole lot faster if we worked on it together. Divide and conquer, y’know?”

  Keith enthusiastically nodded at Shiro. He was silent, but very clear that he would potentially strangle him if he said no. “Uh, sure! How about Sunday?”

  “Cool, it’s a date.”

  “Yeah, see you tomorrow in class!”

  “See ya.”

_ Click _ .

Shiro stared blankly at the phone, and then at Keith, and then back at the phone. He looked back up at Keith. “Don’t-”

  “Oooooh, Shiro has a date~”

  “I do  _ not _ have a date.”

  “May I quote him?”

  “I’d prefer if you didn’t.”

  Keith put on his best impression of Matt. “Ahem. ‘Cool, it’s a date’.”

  “It’s not-”

  “But what if it is?”

  “It’s a figure of speech,” Shiro defended. 

  “How about I call him again, and ask?” Keith started to reach for Shiro’s phone.

  “Nope,” Shiro stated, shoving his phone into his pants.

  “I find it funny that you think that that will stop me,” Keith deadpanned.

  “It might deter you.”

  “Fair enough. Okay, I won’t call him, I promise.”

  “Or text him, or otherwise communicate with him using my phone?”

  “Fine, fine.”

  “I’m gonna trust you.” Shiro put his phone into his pocket. “So, back to you.”

  “Nope, we aren’t talking about Lance anymore, I can’t deal with him, too confusing.”

  “ _ Ahem _ . Oh my god, look at Lance, he’s so hot, Shiro, don’t you think Lance is hot? I hope he just asked me on a date but I’m too proud to admit that I’m hardcore crushing on him and I don’t know how to deal with feelings like liking someone so I hide behind my emo bangs and try to ignore my problems but look at Lance and his stupid olive green jacket and the way his really pretty blue eyes match the colour of the pool and he looks so graceful when he dives in and for some reason I’ve taken extreme notice of how fast he changes into his ridiculously tight swim pants I mean who even wears pants those tight I wonder how hard they are to take off I wonder if he would let me-”

  Keith glared at Shiro as he impersonated him. “You know, you call me emo but you’re the reason I crave death.”

 

\-------

 

“Hey, guys!” Lance slid into his stool by the lab table, handing Keith a pair of safety goggles from the cabinet. 

  “Someone’s chipper today,” Pidge grumbled.

  “Hey, it’s Wednesday, which is the day before Thursday, which is the day before Friday, which means it’s almost the weekend!” Lance replied, practically bouncing. “Hunk, my man, back me up here!”

  “I mean, he is right.” Hunk told Pidge.

  “That’s what I’m talking about!”

  “So, why are you so excited for the weekend?” Pidge asked halfheartedly.

  “Why  _ aren’t _ you?” Lance retorted.

  “I am, it’s called it’s only Wednesday.”

  “Someone’s a pessimist.”

  “Just a realist.”

  “Well, do you have any big weekend plans?” Hunk asked, trying to end the glass-measuring contest. 

  “Yep! I’m glad you asked. Keith and I are going to the beach.” Lance stated proudly. “Are you two busy? You should totally come with!” 

  “I mean, I was going to do some baking, but the beach sounds like fun,” Hunk replied. “I could probably still make something beforehand and bring it with, we could have a picnic.”

  “What about you, Pidge?”

  “Swimming isn’t really my style...” Pidge replied.

  “Jeez, you and Keith both hate fun,” Lance said.

  “If Keith hates swimming, why is he going to the beach with you?”

  “To see me swim!”

  “And, with any luck, see a wave knock him onto his flat, conceited, ass,” Keith added.

  “Hey! My ass is  _ not _ flat!” Lance defended.

  “Lance, you’re flatter than a board.” Keith retorted.

  “A diving board, while it’s in motion, maybe!”

  “May I repeat: his  _ flat, conceited,  _ ass,” Keith stated simply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge thank you to the people who comment on this fic, it means a lot to me!


	6. Long Night

**LANCE:** Hey! This Keith? :D

**KEITH:** Yeah, I’m guessing this is Lance?

**LANCE:** The one and only !!!! 

**KEITH:** You really like those exclamation points don’t u

**LANCE:** Listen, there’s no need for negativity, Nancy!

**KEITH:** K

**LANCE:** So, is it cool if we come and get you around ten on Sunday?

**KEITH:** ‘We’?

**LANCE:** Yeah, my sister can drive us! Plus Hunk and Pidge!

**KEITH:** Cool

**LANCE:** *finger gun emoji*

 

Keith internally screamed, setting his phone back down on his bed next to him.  _ Dear God, he uses finger guns in text. That’s so him, and so cute. What the actual fuck, Keith, you’ve fallen for such a fuckass. Homework, homework, focus on the damn homework. You’ve got this.  _ Keith’s phone buzzed again.

 

**LANCE:** Oh, hey, Mullet!

**KEITH:** hhh what

**LANCE:** “hhh”?

**KEITH:** That’s me screaming because I’m trying to get my homework done

**LANCE:** Sorry to bother you

**KEITH:** No, no, it’s fine, what’s up

**LANCE:** I was just wondering if you could send me the homework, I forgot mine in my locker D’:

**KEITH:** yeah hang on a minute

**LANCE:** You’re a lifesaver!

**KEITH:** np

 

Keith sent the photos before putting his phone back down, returning to attempting to focus on his homework. His phone buzzed again. “For the love of-!” Keith exclaimed, finally silencing it and trying to focus on his work. Ten minutes went by. He tapped his pencil, rereading the question for the millionth time. He hadn’t even made marks on the page yet; Fridays were always the worst day for him to do homework. Eventually, he gave up on trying to get any assignments done, sticking his binders and folders back into his backpack. That would be Sunday night’s problem. He picked his phone back up, greeted by two notifications: one from Shiro, asking how he was. The other, from Lance again, but a picture message. Keith opened that first, greeted by Lance’s smile, his eyes partially shut from the grin. 

 

**LANCE:** For your contact picture of me! We can take a better picture on Sunday !

 

Keith could have sworn his soul left his body. He texted Shiro as such before setting the picture as a contact image.

 

**KEITH:** thanks

**LANCE:** What can I set yours as for now?

**KEITH:** uhhhh…. Idk

 

Frantically, Keith texted Shiro half of the pictures he had of himself.

 

**SHIRO:** Why did you just send me five million pictures of yourself?

**KEITH:** WHICH ONE IS THE BEST

**SHIRO:** Why?

**KEITH:** LANCE WANTS A PICTURE OF ME

**SHIRO:** Keith, all of these are from months ago.

**KEITH:** WHICH ONE IS THE BEST

**SHIRO:** Dude, just take a new one.

**KEITH:** CAN I DO THAT

**SHIRO:** Why wouldn’t you be able to?

**KEITH:** SHIRO I’M NOT WEARING A SHIRT RIGHT NOW. OR PANTS

**SHIRO:** Are you coming onto me?

**KEITH:** SHIRO THIS IS NOT A TIME FOR JOKING

**SHIRO:** Why aren’t you wearing a shirt or pants?

**KEITH:** BECAUSE MY PARENTS ARENT HOME

**SHIRO:** Dude, you sound like a fuckboy.

**KEITH:** SHIRO HELP ME

**SHIRO:** I think you’re old enough to know how to put on your big boy pants.

**KEITH:** SHIRO I DON’T NEED YOUR SASS

**SHIRO:** You’re right

**KEITH:** THANK YOU

**SHIRO:** You need Lance’s ass.

**KEITH:** HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

**SHIRO:** Am I wrong, though?

**KEITH:** THAT DOESN’T MATTER

**SHIRO:** Just take a new selfie.

**KEITH:** SHIRO I’M SHIRTLESS

**SHIRO:** Then put on a shirt?

**KEITH:** THEY’RE IN THE WASH

**SHIRO:** I don’t think he’d mind if you sent a shirtless picture.

**KEITH:** SHIRO THIS IS NOT THE TIME

**SHIRO:** Of course it is

**KEITH:** NO

**SHIRO:** He’s seen you shirtless. He’s probably seen you naked.

**KEITH:** THATS DIFFERENT

**SHIRO:** Then wrap a blanket around yourself or something?

**KEITH:** SHIRO HOW WILL I TAKE A PICTURE OF MYSELF IN A BLANKET

**SHIRO:** Uh, with your phone? Front facing camera would probably work best.

**KEITH:** SHIRO IT WOULD LOOK TOO SEXUAL

**SHIRO:** Why do you keep typing my name dude I know my name

**KEITH:** JUST IN CASE SHIRO. JUST. IN. CASE.

**SHIRO:** Well, what do you want me to do?

**KEITH:** COME OVER

**SHIRO:** Dude you’re shirtless and wearing no pants I know how this movie ends

**KEITH:** DUDE

**SHIRO:** Have Lance come over and take the picture ;)

**KEITH:** I CAN’T DO THAT SHIRO

**SHIRO:** Bro just go for it.

**KEITH:** SHIRO

**SHIRO:** Go for it bro

**KEITH:** S H I R O

**SHIRO:** G o  f o r  i t

**KEITH:** FINE BUT I’M SENDING IT TO YOU FIRST

 

Keith grabbed his blanket; it was dark red and soft, and even though it was still ridiculously hot out, he slept with it. He wrapped it around himself, hoping that the picture didn’t look too suggestive before he sent it to Shiro.

 

**KEITH:** WELL

**SHIRO:** Perfect!

**KEITH:** IS IT TOO SUGGESTIVE

**SHIRO:** Nah, I’d say that that’s probably just the right amount of suggestive

**KEITH:** SHIRO WHAT IF HE THINKS ITS WEIRD

**SHIRO:** Then he’s not worth your time. Send it

**KEITH:** HHHHHHH

 

Keith sent the picture.

 

**KEITH:** there u go

**LANCE:** Awesome! It’s set!!

**KEITH:** See you Sunday?

**LANCE:** Wait a minute!

**KEITH:** What?

**LANCE:** Is that a stuffed lion behind you?

 

_ Shit. _

 

**KEITH:** SHIRO FUCK

**SHIRO:** What now?

**KEITH:** YOU DIDN’T TELL ME THAT RED WAS IN THE BG

**SHIRO:** I thought that that was intentional?

**KEITH:** WHY WOULD MY RED STUFFED LION BEING IN THE BACKGROUND BE INTENTIONAL

**SHIRO:** idk man maybe that’s the new Emo Aesthetic 

**KEITH:** NO AND IM NOT EMO

**SHIRO:** dude you listen to the most emo music and have you seen yourself in a mirror have you seen your gloves

**KEITH:** THIS ISN’T IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW SHIRO WHAT DO I DO

**SHIRO:** Just own it bro

**KEITH:** YOUR NO HELP

**SHIRO:** *you’re

**KEITH:** FUCK YOU

**SHIRO:** Nah, I’m not Lance

_ Deep breaths, Keith. Patience yields focus, fuck yeah.  _

  
**LANCE:** Keith?

**KEITH:** Uhh, yeah, it is

**LANCE:** That’s really cool! I have a really similar one, but mine’s blue!

**KEITH:** Really?  
**LANCE:** Yeah, shes actually named Blue!

**KEITH:** Lol

**LANCE:** I wasn’t the most original five year old, but still!

**KEITH:** I wasn’t a very original kid, either, mine is named Red  
**LANCE:** That’s so cute!

 

Keith’s brain short circuited.

 

**KEITH:** You’re cute

 

_ Fuck. _

 

**LANCE:** Thank you, I knew you would see it eventually~

**KEITH:** Lol, I wasn’t finished.  
**LANCE:** Oh?

**KEITH:** You’re cute as a kid, what happened?

 

_ Jesus, Keith, that’s worse. Why would you say that? _

 

**LANCE:** You’re right, I was cute as a kid, now I’m hot as fuck!

**KEITH:** Not what I meant, flat ass.   
**LANCE:** Sure it wasn’t. Anyways, I gotta get my beauty sleep, I’ll talk to you later.

**KEITH:** Night

**LANCE:** Goodnight!

Keith looked at the time. Damn, was it really already midnight? He switched conversations.

 

**SHIRO:** How did it go?

**KEITH:** shiro ive died

**SHIRO:** What?

**KEITH:** tell my parents i loved them 

**SHIRO:** What happened?

**KEITH:** come over tomorrow ill explain everything

**SHIRO:** Okay. Get some sleep, alright?

**KEITH:** will do

**SHIRO:** Call me if you need me, pine tree

**KEITH:** right back at u loverboy

 

Keith dragged himself downstairs to grab his pyjamas and other clothes from the dryer, relieved that his parents were away for the evening with their friends at some hotel somewhere on a short, and not very far away, vacation. At least that meant Keith could get laundry done uninterrupted and play his music out loud late at night. He changed into them, bare feet padding back up the stairs with the basket on his hip. The clothes were still warm, and smelled clean and fresh; heat radiated from the basket, almost uncomfortably so. Keith didn’t feel up to folding and hanging his laundry right away, so he set the basket on the floor by his bedroom door so that he wouldn’t forget in the morning. He brushed his teeth, pulling his hair back into a ponytail before curling up in his bed and waiting to hopefully fall asleep.

 

\------

 

At four in the morning, Keith woke up covered in sweat with his heart racing as though he had just run a mile without taking a breath. Rain pattered against his closed window as he gasped for air, sitting up and clutching his sides. The corner of his fitted sheet clung to his shoulder, the rest of it and his blanket twisted and tangled up with his limbs. He took a moment to try and catch his breath before getting the fabric sorted out, leaning his back against the cool wall. After a little while, he fumbled to try and find his phone, shaky hands not making anything easier. He called Shiro, listening to the dial tone and waiting for it to either go to voicemail, or for Shiro to answer.

“Hello?” Shiro’s tired, gravelly voice greeted.

  “Hey.” Keith’s voice was far less stable, but just as disoriented. 

  “Keith?”

  “C-could you come over?” 

  “Give me five minutes, I just gotta throw on a shirt and shoes.” Shiro hung up the phone, hardly taking a breath before grabbing a tank top, pulling it on with one arm while he ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. He scrawled out a hasty note to his parents before sliding his feet into shoes, keys in hand, not even grabbing an umbrella before sprinting to Keith’s. He unlocked the door, taking off his shoes and stealing a towel to dry off before walking to Keith’s room.

“Sure is a downpour out there,” Shiro greeted as he cautiously stepped into his best friend’s room. He knew Keith had a habit of leaving the laundry basket in front of his door, so that he couldn’t leave without tripping on it, but it had tripped Shiro a few times too many for him to forget about it now. Sure enough, it was there. He pushed it out of the way with his foot, walking over to Keith’s bed and climbing into it so that he could sit next to Keith, who was still leaning against the wall. “Nightmare?”

Keith only nodded in response. Shiro helped pull Keith into his lap, careful to be gentle with him. He ran his hand through Keith’s hair a few times before grabbing the blanket from the foot of the bed and wrapping it around Keith’s back, returning to playing with Keith’s hair. He could tell that Keith was crying, that he was still scared even though he knew it was just another nightmare. His shirt was already drenched, but he didn’t need to feel tears to know when Keith was crying. 

For a very long time, Keith had dealt with nights like these alone. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Shiro; he was just too unsure of how to reach out to tell him what was going on. Shiro hadn’t realised the magnanimity of it until one day, Keith had offhandedly stated that he hadn’t slept in two days because of nightmares after Shiro had asked him why he looked so tired. Shiro had insisted that Keith call him if he had any more bad nightmares after that; at first, Keith was hesitant, but eventually he started calling. Shiro never seemed to get mad at him calling; usually, after a while the two would fall asleep together, but even when they stayed up all night Shiro just drank some straight black coffee in the morning. After the first few times of Shiro coming over in the middle of the night, Keith had convinced his parents to make Shiro a key so that it was easier. His parents sat down with Shiro’s, and decided that it was fine as long as it didn’t interfere with either of the boys’ schoolwork. Still, Keith tried to avoid calling Shiro unless it was an emergency. 

After a while, Keith calmed down and was able to breathe normally again. “Thank you for coming over,” he said; his voice was quiet, as though he was afraid of breaking the silence.

  “Of course.” Shiro responded.

  “Do you want dry clothes?” 

  “Sure. Want me to get them?”

  “No, I’ve got it. I have to change, too.”

  “Yeah, there’s a hole in your shirt.”

  “There is? Damn.” There was a complete lack of emotion in Keith’s voice as he went to sift through his laundry basket. He threw Shiro’s shirt and pants at him, glad that his friend left a change of clothing at his house. He changed soon after, helping Shiro to wrestle the fitted sheet back into place and putting the pillow he had thrown in his thrashing back onto his bed.

  “Hey, look at me,” Shiro said, voice showing his concern. Keith did as asked. “Your lip is bleeding.”

  “That explains the taste of blood.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good to know I didn’t somehow become a vampire while I was asleep.” Keith halfheartedly joked.

  “I’ll be right back. You stay here.”

After a few minutes, Shiro returned with some water. “Drink.”

  Keith took the glass gratefully, sipping at it. “Thank you.”

  “Do you want to try and get some more sleep?” Shiro asked gently, letting Keith lean against him.

  Keith paused. “I don’t know...” 

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Shiro asked after a minute.

  “No,” Keith responded almost before Shiro had even finished asking the question.

  “Okay, it’s okay.” 

Keith nodded, nesting himself into Shiro’s side. He took a few deep breaths, trying to stay calm and not remember why he had woken up and called Shiro. Just a normal night. He played with the hem of his shirt, rubbing the fabric between his fingers. Shiro had his arm wrapped around Keith, gently rubbing his side and trying to make sure that he didn’t fall back into a panic attack. “Why don’t we lay down?” Shiro suggested. Keith nodded, lying down on his side and letting Shiro spoon him. The pair laid there, Shiro forcing himself to stay awake until he was certain that Keith had fallen asleep. 

After a while of being asleep, Keith woke up to Shiro gently holding him. “What’s going on?” Keith asked, sitting up straight as a blade.

  “You were having another nightmare, and flailing around.”

  Keith paused for a minute. “Did I punch you?”

  “No, it’s fine. You’re fine.” Shiro soothed, slowly rubbing Keith’s arm. He laid down on his back so that Keith could curl up against him. Keith did so, head and hand resting on Shiro’s chest. 

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Shiro replied, “let’s get some more sleep.”

Keith nodded. After a minute, he was calmed down; Shiro knew exactly what to do in times like these. “You smell good,” he murmured. Shiro always smelled good, but especially so on nights like these; he smelled safe, warm, and real. 

  “Thank you,” Shiro replied, just as quiet. 

It took a while, but eventually both of them were asleep, Shiro unable to force himself to stay awake, and Keith finally exhausted enough to fall back into fits of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to king-among-knights.tumblr.com for being my wonderful editor, and also for giving the idea of (and I'm quoting them on this) "'ohmygod he uses finger guns i cant deal with this but also its rlly cute and rlly him wtf'" which was so fitting for the moment! Also, thank you to King for the constant encouragement and being there to bounce ideas off of and help supply headcanons for this fic. 
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


	7. Winner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I would, but he’s decided to become a member of the aquatic ecosystem and has, as such, fucked off to become a fish.”

“Keith, this is Sofia, my sister. Sofia, this is Keith!” Lance introduced the two to each other. Keith tried to not look at Lance’s side through the gaping arm holes of his white tank top, but it was a little bit hard to do when there was such a contrast between his deep, tanned skin and the thin white material. 

  “I’ve heard a lot about you!” Sofia greeted. 

  “Likewise,” Keith lied. He knew very little about her, but he was quite certain that the sentiment was mutual. He hadn’t known Lance long enough yet to talk about family.

  “Good things, I hope? Wouldn’t want this brother of mine to fill your head with lies about me or anything.”

  “He only talks about how great you are,” Keith assured her. She looked a lot like Lance, except her hair was darker and a bit longer, wavy hair cut into a shoulder-length bob. Sofia wore a bright yellow crop top and denim shorts, dark-toned sunglasses perched on her nose. “You haven’t gotten Hunk and Pidge yet, then?”

  “Nah, they both texted me this morning and said that they couldn’t make it,” Lance responded. “I hope you don’t mind.” 

  “No, that’s fine,” Keith replied over the wind that whipped through the car, all of the windows rolled down. Sofia turned on the radio, turning the volume up as high as she could. Keith grabbed a ponytail holder from his wrist, pulling as much of his hair as he could back so that it wasn’t hitting his face in the vortex. At least the quick-moving air cooled the trio down, and the cranked music made conversation even more impossible. As they got closer to the beach, and therefore further from his home, Keith realised that perhaps he should have brought Shiro along with him; it would certainly make things less nerve wracking if he had someone familiar with him.  _ No, Shiro had that thing with Matt. _ Keith reminded himself.  _ Though, it wouldn’t’ve been that hard to convince Matt to come with, too. Pidge might’ve liked hanging out with their brother. Where does Hunk fit into all of this? He and Lance seem to be getting close, and same with him and Pidge. Where do I fit into all of this? _

After spacing out for the rest of the ride, Keith finally realised that they were pretty close to the beach. They got there, fighting to find parking in the crowded lot. It took time, and patience, but eventually they squeezed into a spot. Lance and Sofia popped the trunk of the car, grabbing their bags; Keith slid out of the back with his. They made their way over to the shoreline, looking for a spot amidst the beach towels and umbrellas that already covered the sand. It was hot, but not as unbearably so as it was back home. Besides, nothing was as unbearable as Texas in the summer. This was a far cry from the dry heat of Keith’s younger years. 

Eventually, they found their space. “Oh, Lance,” Sophia started, “I brought you something I thought that you might want.”

  “Hm?” Lance asked as he took off his shirt and slathered himself in sunscreen. “I’ll get your back if you get mine?” He asked as he handed the bottle to Keith, who nodded and observed the shit-eating grin that he assumed was the marker of sibling mischief.

   “Yeah, I figured Keith would want to see it, too,” Sofia unfolded a flag with an absurd face that only Lance could make with the word ‘WINNER’ written under it in all caps. 

Keith, forgetting how full of sunscreen his palm was, tried to stifle a laugh, resulting in his nose being covered beyond necessity with it. Lance cackled at the flag. “Ah, what a perfect way to mark our spot! Please, tell me you brought a pole with you!” He turned to look at Keith. “Oh, jeez, you okay there? You’ve got a little sunscreen on your nose, you look like a stereotypical touri- hang on!” He grabbed his phone, and in one swift motion took a photo of Keith before he could protest. “There, perfect photo to remember today.” 

  “You bet your ass I brought you a pole. Don’t dance on it this time, please, you’re an embarrassment to this family and the last thing we need is to embarrass your poor friend into welcoming the prospect of drowning,” Sofia responded.

  Lance ignored her, pouting dramatically at Keith.

Keith tried to rub the sunscreen into his face, hoping that there wasn’t too much. He rubbed the remainder of what was on his hands into his arms, taking off his shirt so that he could get the rest of himself before going back and doing Lance’s back. Lance had turned to attempt bickering with Sofia about his dancing, and nearly screamed when Keith started putting sunscreen on his back. “Jesus, that’s freezing, holyshitwarnaguynexttime-” Lance shrieked, tensing up. Keith calmly continued to rub it into his back, trying to not pay attention to how Lance’s back felt under his hands as his muscles relaxed. 

  “There, all done. That couldn’t possibly have been as bad as you made it out to be,” Keith told him, handing over the bottle of sunscreen. Lance pouted some more, motioning for Keith to turn around so that he could squirt lotion directly from the bottle onto his back. Keith gritted his teeth, tensing instinctively at the sudden cold. He refused to give Lance the satisfaction of screeching. 

As soon as Lance was finished, he picked up Keith and booked it for the water. “Lance, I swear to god, if you run me right into that water I’m going to- Lance!” Keith’s voice started out reasonably paced before he went through all five stages of grief and then from acceptance back to anger as he felt his body completely submerged in water. Lance laughed as Keith sputtered, faking dropping him before catching him again. “You- you-” Keith tried to push Lance down into the water, but the swimmer was far more solid than he was.

  “What, do you need me to give you CPR or something?” Lance joked. 

  “I’m not drowning, am I?” Keith bit back.

  “Probably only because I’m holding you in my big, strong arms.”

  “The only thing big about you is your ego!”

  “Oh, wow, Keith, that one hurt. Guess I just have to let you go and drown in my sorrow,” Lance dramatically stated, starting to let go of his friend.

  Keith clung to Lance like a wet cat. “Don’t you dare, I am not prepared for swimming.”

  “Well, get prepared then.”

  “No.”

  “I do eventually have to let go of you, you know.”

  “On land.”

  “You’ve gotta swim at some point.”

  “If you let go of me right now I’m going to have to take you up on that CPR offer.”

  “Oh, so I’m the only thing keeping you alive right now? Would me letting you go take your breath away?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself.”

  “I think I’m gonna go out a bit farther. See you out there, chico lindo.” Lance dropped Keith with a wink, quickly swimming away. 

Keith quickly flailed until his feet found purchase on the ground, dragging himself back to the shore. He made his way back to his towel, drying off and sitting for a minute to catch his breath. Sofia looked up from her book. “Did my brother do something stupid?” She sighed, “Of course he did, he’s my brother. What stupid thing did he do this time?”

  Keith looked at her with exasperation. “He winked and called me a chicken.”

  Sofia laughed. “He did  _ what _ ?”

  “He dragged me into the water, and while dropping me, he winked and called me a chicken. Or something. I’m not sure if it was English.” Keith looked at his hands and then back up at Sofia in desperate confusion. 

  “Was it maybe Spanish?” Sofia suggested.

  “I… maybe? I don’t know! What does Spanish sound like? He said something after ‘chicken’ but I was too busy not drowning to remember.”

  “Probably just ask him, I have no clue what goes through my brother’s mind.”

  “I would, but he’s decided to become a member of the aquatic ecosystem and has, as such, fucked off to become a fish.”

  “That’s Lance,” Sofia stated, dramatically looking out at the waves. “We took him swimming one day, and then we noticed changes in him. Like gills, and how his skin was scaly.”

  “ _ What? _ ”

  “Then we put some lotion on him and found out that some people actually do have vestigial gill-like things. It’s only on one side of his face, though, and it’s really small.”

  “What was he like as a kid?”

  “He thought that maybe him having the single gill meant that he was actually a merman, and therefore stole our hair ties to tie his feet together and pretend that he was one. Also he watched as much of that mermaid show, H 2 O or something like that, of the girls that turned into mermaids when they were wet. It was an interesting thing to watch him watch that. He and I would pretend to be mermaids together, and sometimes we could even get our brother, Floriano, to play along with us.”

  “When did he realise that he wasn’t a mermaid?”

  Sofia leaned close to Keith, as if she was about to tell him a huge secret. “In all honesty,” she beckoned Keith closer, “I still don’t think he has.” She looked at him with a serious expression for a few seconds before laughing. “I’m just kidding, he’s realised by now. I hope.”

  Keith nodded. There was an awkward pause while he tried to find something to say. “Are you going to swim?”

  “Eh, maybe in a bit. I’d rather just read for a bit. You should go swim, though, my brother is probably waiting for you.”

  “Why would be be waiting for me?”

  “Because he wants to show off, and he knows I won’t be impressed.”

  “Ah.” Keith looked out at the water. “Well, I’ll let you read then.” Sofia nodded, going back to her book.

Keith stood, brushing sand off of his ass carefully so as to not get it on Sofia before walking back to the edge of the water. He looked out at it pensively, looking for Lance and eventually spacing out. 

Lance, meanwhile, had swam to shore and started sneaking up behind Keith once he realised that he was just standing there. He got right behind Keith, leaning forward to whisper in his ear, “Hey, you emo fuck.”

  Keith nearly screamed as he jumped, spinning around and gaping at Lance. “What the hell?!?”

  Lance laughed, bending over at the waist with tears practically streaming down his face. “Oh- my god- your  _ face _ !” 

  Keith gently shoved Lance, crossing his arms indignantly. He wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there, but when he stepped away from where he had been standing the sand was hot against the bottom of his foot. He stepped towards the water, letting the tide lap at his feet as he glared at Lance, who was still laughing.

Eventually, Lance stopped laughing enough to go over to Keith and rest his arm on his shoulder. “So, what broody thoughts were you thinking?”

  “I wasn’t thinking broody thoughts.”

  “You looked like you were.”

  Keith sighed. “For the love of god, I wasn’t brooding.”

  “Then what were you thinking about?”

  “How weird it is that so many people think that mermaids are real.”

  Lance looked at Keith with shock, jaw falling open.

  “What?”

  “Mermaids are real,” Lance stated.

  “Where is your proof?”

  “Dude, ninety-five percent of the ocean is unexplored,” Lance pointed out.

  “Doesn’t mean mermaids are real,” Keith rebutted.

  “Do you know what really isn’t real?”

  “What?”

  “Mothman.”

  “Mothman is real and he’s my husband,” Keith joked.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then mermaids are real and I’m married to all of them,” Lance retorted.

  “Thats a lot of people to be not married to, since mermaids don’t exist,” Keith rolled his eyes.

  “Yes they do!”

  “Give me proof.”

  “Give me proof that Mothman is real.”

Keith sighed. The two were silent for a few minutes before he spoke. “So?”

  “So…?” Lance replied.

  “Didn’t you want me to see you swim or something?”

  Lance immediately grinned. “Are you ready to be fuckin’ impressed?”

  Keith rolled his eyes. “Sure. Show me your wonderful swimming, weird fishperson.”

Lance looked at the ocean, then back at Keith. “I just realised something.”

  “What?”

  “It’s going to be very hard for you to see me swim, since I’m going to have to go out pretty far to actually swim, and there are waves.”

  “And you didn’t think of this before you suggested we go to the beach?” Keith asked, trying to not sound annoyed. He did like spending time with Lance; he had just been looking forward to seeing him swim, though he’d never admit that.

  “I mean, hey, there is one way that I can show you, but you’ve got to trust me.”

  “Uhhhh…” Keith cautiously let Lance continue talking.

  “Sofia and I used to do it all the time, so I know it’s completely safe to do, neither of us ever drowned, and I promise you can ask her if you don’t believe me.” Lance hoped that Keith would say yes.

  “What is it?”

  “So basically, we swim out there, then you get on my back and I go underwater and become a water horse, essentially a dolphin but if you don’t believe in mermaids I don’t know if you believe in those - wait, do you think the earth is flat, too? - and I swim and it’s fun.” 

  “That sounds dangerous,” Keith replied skeptically. 

  “It’s not, we’ve done it ever since I was little, just trust me. Plus, then you can see how great of a swimmer I am! It’s a win-win, come on!”

  Keith looked back at Sofia; she looked like she was alive still, plus it couldn’t be that difficult to balance. “Okay, let’s do it,” he said.

  “Woo! Okay, so when we get out there, just kinda jump on my back like I’m going to give you a piggyback ride, and then I’m going to lean forwards until I’m horizontal and you’re going to have to stay vertical, just trust me and hold on, I’ll hit your leg right before I come up for air so that you don’t fall off.”

The two got into the water, Lance leading Keith far enough out. “Ready?” He asked.

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  “Just use those glorious thighs and ride me!” Lance exclaimed as he dived into the water, swimming forwards. Keith wasn’t entirely sure what he said, but he held on regardless and tried to not fall off. He lurched forward and grabbed onto Lance’s shoulders instinctively, the swimmer continuing onwards a bit before tapping on Keith’s leg and coming up. 

“Are you okay?” Lance laughed over his shoulder. 

  “I thought I was going to fall off!”

  “You’ve got thighs, use them! I promise, you won’t crush me!” Lance grinned. “Ready to try again?”

  Keith nodded, glad that he was on Lance’s back and therefore he and his blush were out of sight. “Go ahead!”

  Lance plunged back down, pushing Keith’s legs tighter around his torso before swimming off again. Keith managed to resist the urge to grab his hair or shoulders, not wanting to hinder him from swimming. Eventually, he got the hang of holding on, managing to relax a bit. Wind blew his wet hair around, water spraying against his face. 

After a bit, Keith felt a tap on his knee; Lance emerged from the water, grinning as soon as his head broke the surface. “See, now you’re getting the hang of it!”

  Keith smiled back. “I think I am!”

  “Ready?” Lance asked before diving back down into the water, Keith holding on and leaning back as salt sprayed his face. It wasn’t necessarily fast, but it was still fun. 

After a while, Keith and Lance headed back to the shoreline, tired of swimming around and ready to eat something. The day passed by, Keith and Lance splashing each other and trying to not get Sofia wet until she came into the water and swam with them. Keith wasn’t shocked when she turned out to be graceful in the water; after all, she and Lance were related. He wondered if all of Lance’s siblings were talented in the water. The sun moved across the sky, Lance and Keith growing more comfortable with each other and Keith doing considerably less internal screaming. 

Eventually, Keith and Lance sat on a fence, looking out on the sand and water and watching the sun go down. “Turn around,” Lance said to Keith, flipping the way he was sitting so that his back was to the water. Keith, with some confusion, did as he was told. Lance pulled out his phone, slinging his arm around Keith and taking a picture of the two of them. “An even more perfect picture to remember today,” he said, smiling at Keith. “Here, I’ll send it to you.” 

_ So much for not screaming, _ Keith thought to himself. “Cool,” he replied. 

“Hey, ready to head home?” Sofia called to them. “It’s getting dark.”

“And water’s wet!” Lance called back sarcastically. “You ready?”

“Sure.”

“Alright, cool.” Lance finally removed his arm from Keith’s shoulder, smiling at him. “Race you to the spot,” he said before catapulting himself over the fence and bolting to Sofia. 

Keith shook his head. “That’s not fair, you got a head start!” He called before chasing after him. Lance laughed as he ran, making it to his sister a second before Keith did. “I guess that’s the only way that you’re confident you can win against me, eh?” Keith joked.

“Oh, sure, that’s totally true. I totally didn’t beat you in the pacer test.” Lance retorted. 

“Sprinting and endurance are completely different things,” Keith pointed out, “and you may be fast but I bet I could beat you in sprinting.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

“Then let’s race to the car.”

“Good by me.”

“Please don’t, I need you two to carry things,” Sofia interjected. 

“Yo, this is my  _ pride _ on the line, Sofia,” Lance argued back.

“Well, then how about you two race home?” Sofia replied.

“That’s endurance, and sprinting and endurance are two completely different things,” Lance mocked Keith’s tone.

“What do you want me to carry?” Keith asked, rolling his eyes at Lance.

“The weight of being this idiot’s sister would be great, if you wouldn’t mind.”

“I’m not an idiot!” Lance exclaimed, offended.

“When you were younger you said that you didn’t need pants because you were a mermaid and mermaids don’t wear pants.”

“I was a kid though!”

“Lance… you said that pretty recently, if I remember correctly.”

_ God, he’s adorable. What the fuck, Lance. You have legs. _ Keith thought to himself as the two continued to go back and forth. “Hey, we could always have a race some other time. Let’s just help Sofia get the stuff to the car.”  _ If we don’t, I’m going to actually scream. _

Lance pouted. “Alright, fine, let’s do that.”

_ He’s too cute, I’m dying. _

Keith took some bags from Sofia, Lance taking the rest, so that she didn’t have to juggle later to unlock the car. They got there with minimal bickering, all of them watching as it got a bit darker and colder every minute. By the time they made it to the car, the last rays had vanished, and all Keith could think about was how he had watched the sun set with Lance’s arm around him. He wondered if Lance was thinking about it, too, but he didn’t want to ask. Lance, in fact, was thinking about it; about how he had been so forward with it, how he would probably set that photo as his home screen on his phone, how he would probably just say that he looked good in the photo and that was why it was his background. Definitely that it had nothing to do with Keith, or the way his hair was messed up from the wind, or how the sunset backlighting him made him look soft, or how he looked genuine with he smiled.  _ No, none of that at all. And especially not because I wanted to kiss him. Of course not, I don’t like him. At all. He’s just a rival, Lance and Keith, neck and neck. Look at his face, though.  _

Lance set the photo, wondering if Keith was going to do the same.  _ At least he didn’t hear me earlier when I told him to ride me. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the unplanned hiatus! I am working on a few writing projects right now, but I hope that this chapter makes up for it a bit; hopefully, I can return to a more frequent upload schedule soon.


	8. Chatting

 

School on Monday came and went with little event. Pidge and Hunk couldn’t help but notice how much more comfortable Keith and Lance were with each other. When they added chemicals into a mixture of  _ other _ chemicals, and that mixture started fizzing, Lance grabbed onto Keith because he didn’t know that it was going to happen. After that moment, though, he let go and looked at the mixture, while Keith took notes and hoped that he wasn’t blushing, or that the flush to his cheeks could be explained by how warm the classroom was. He felt like he was existing in a weird haze, clouded by humidity and heat. 

Lance waited for Sofia to come and pick him up, sitting in the shadow of a tree and listening to music. She eventually pulled up, and he hopped in. “So,” she said after a moment, “how’s Keith doing today?”

“I have other friends, you know,” Lance defended. 

“Well, you don’t ramble to me about those friends for hours after spending the whole day with them,” Sofia teased.

“It’s perfectly normal to talk about people after hanging out with them.”

“Ah, and also ‘perfectly normal’ to talk about them almost every other day, as well?”

“Naturally.”

“I see.”

There were a few minutes of silence before Lance spoke again. “Sofia, I clung onto him in chem today because our experiment fizzed and I didn’t expect it and he wasn’t even surprised.”

“Well, hey, things fizzing is totally the most terrifying thing ever.”

“It was so embarrassing! But also he’s so warm and soft? It would be better if he wasn’t warm though, since it’s so warm in those fricken classrooms already.”

“Hey, just ask your teacher if you can do another lab that fizzes when it’s winter. Then you can cling to him again,” Sofia suggested unhelpfully.

“Very funny.”

“Hey, my little bro has a crush within the first month of his freshman year.”

“I don’t have a crush on him!” Lance replied adamantly.

“Ahh, yes, that’s exactly why you always talk about him and why you always look for an excuse to see him.”

“Chem isn’t an excuse! It’s a class, and we were assigned our partners.”

“Suuure, and you’re also assigned to be partners in gym, and to hang out at the beach, and to invite him over this weekend-”

“I didn’t invite him over for this weekend,” Lance cut her off.

“But you’re probably going to,” Sofia replied.

“Well, you don’t know that.”

“I mean, given the fact that we’re still talking about him-”

“Listen, it’s not my fault that he’s easy to talk to, and be around, and that he’s really cute, even though he has that stupid mullet, and- and- you’re one to talk! You hardly ever shut up about Astrid!”

Sofia blushed, continuing to drive. “Listen, that’s different!”

“How?”

“Because- I- she-” Sofia sighed with exasperation. She had no defense. 

“Exactly!” Lance crossed his arms triumphantly. “So you have no room to talk. Have you even asked her out yet?”

“No, but mayb- hey! You’re changing the subject.”

“Fine, let’s change it again. How was your day?”

 

***

 

“So, how was Matt?” Keith asked, scooping ice cream.

Shiro blushed, hiding his face in his hands. “He’s too cute, Keith, I can’t take it. I’m going to die.”

“Grab the whipped cream?” Keith asked. “Have you asked him out yet?”

“Dude, of course not,” Shiro replied, tossing the whipped cream to Keith. “Sprinkles?”

“And chocolate sauce.”

“I just can’t ask him out. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because we’re friends, but it’s just so hard to ask him. He’s probably not interested in me, anyways.”

“Dude, of course he is. He’s probably just too shy to ask you.”

“It would be much easier if he would ask me.”

“Does he have a date to homecoming?” Keith put whipped cream on the ice cream in the bowls.

“Not that he’s mentioned.” Shiro put the ice cream away.  
“Ask him, then. The worst thing that could happen is he says no.”

“I don’t even know if he wants to go, though.” Shiro took the whipped cream from Keith, deciding that stopping the other boy from putting the entire can on his sundae was a good plan.

“You’ll never know until you ask.”

“Then why don’t you ask Lance? Have you even told him you have a hardcore crush on him?”

“Dude, it’s past being a crush. This is solid pining. I’m whipped.” Keith punctuated his phrases with shakes of the sprinkles, shaking them until he was satisfied before capping them and putting them away. “Besides, we aren’t talking about me right now, we’re talking about you and nerdy dreamboy. Cherries?”

“Of course. And we don’t have to talk about me,” Shiro started, earning a glare from Keith. “Fine. How should I ask him, if I do?”

Keith put chocolate sauce on the sundaes before fishing out a few cherries for each of them from the jar. He slid one of the bowls to Shiro, taking the other for himself and heading over to the couch. “I don’t know, just ask him?”

“I can’t just ask him, Keith. I need to do something.”

“Roses?” Keith said around the spoon in his mouth. 

“What colour, though?”

“Red, if you want to go the passionate route. Avoid yellow and white, though. You could do purple or pink if you really wanted to, but red is probably the way to go,” Keith replied as he ate more ice cream.

“What about carnations?”

“Do roses,” Keith replied.

“Why not carnations?” 

“Have you ever thought, ‘oh boy I really hope the guy I like gives me  _ carnations _ ’?” Keith deadpanned.

“Fair enough,” Shiro conceeded.

“Probably put filler in it, too. Baby’s breath smells like ass, so I’d avoid it if he’s the sniffing type,” Keith pointed out.

“ _ The sniffing type _ ? Keith, he’s not a dog.” 

“Shiro, I know that. But if he seems like the type to shove his face all up in it like he’s a bee or something, get filler that doesn’t smell like vomit.” 

“Can you just come with me to pick out the flowers?” Shiro asked hopefully.

“Sure,” Keith replied. 

“You’re a lifesaver.”

The two of them continued to eat their ice cream and chat about anything other than Lance. Whenever the conversation started to move in that direction, Keith found a way to change it. Eventually, Shiro left, Keith’s parents came home, and the three had dinner together. Keith went up to his room to do his homework, working at it with as much focus as he could muster. When his phone buzzed, though, the little bit of attention span he had for math left. 

 

**LANCE:** Hey  
**KEITH:** Hi

**LANCE:** How r u

**KEITH:** Tired of math lol you

**LANCE:** saaaaaaaaaaaaame  
**KEITH:** yeah

**LANCE:** Wanna hang out?

**KEITH:** Now?

 

Keith looked at the clock on his phone;  _ 7:44 PM _ stared back at him

 

**LANCE:** Yeah  
**KEITH:** Isn’t it a bit late?

**LANCE:** Live a little, Keithy

**KEITH:** Where?

**LANCE:** You know the park by the school? About a block away?  
**KEITH:** Yeah?

**LANCE:** Meet me there in 30

**KEITH:** Uhhhhh let me ask my parents

**LANCE:** kk

 

Keith went downstairs and asked his mom; she said sure, provided he was back by 10. He could do that.

  
**KEITH:** On my way

**LANCE:** Cool, see u there

 

Keith grabbed a jacket, plugging headphones into his phone as he walked. He was at least going to listen to music, if he had to jog. He slid running shoes on, leaving with a ‘love you’ to his parents before the door shut behind him and he stepped outside, where it was already dark and a chill was settling.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! I'm going to try and get back to updating more often! I know that this was a short chapter, but don't worry, I promise that there will be another one faster than the last few updates have been. Thank you so much to king-among-knights.tumblr.com for being a patient beta, and getting this chapter read through as soon as I finished writing it! 
> 
> Also, thank you to everyone who has commented/given kudos to this work! It means the world to me that y'all take the time out of your day to do that.


	9. Everybody Fights Sometimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things don't go as planned.

 

Lance skateboarded to the park, idly standing and waiting for Keith to show up. He didn’t really have a plan, he had texted Keith on a whim, really, but he didn’t regret it. Keith walked over, taking his earbuds out. Lance noticed that his usually-free hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, though a few stray black hairs poked out. “Hey,” Lance greeted.

“Hey,” Keith returned, barely out of breath. The two stood in silence for a couple moments. “So, what’s up?” Keith eventually said. 

“Oh, I was just bored, and, uh,” _Think of something fast, Lance. Make this as casual as you can._ “Everyone else was busy.” _Shit._  
“Oh. Okay.” Keith was disappointed, but unsurprised. He wouldn’t dare let Lance know either of those things, though. 

_ I’m an idiot. That was definitely the wrong thing to say, _ Lance thought to himself. He couldn’t let himself let Keith know that, though.  _ Play it cool. _ “So, do you do anything for fun?”  _ Strike two, Lance. Strike two.  _

Keith snorted. “Of course I do.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Lance replied, figuring out that maybe this wouldn’t be a disaster.

“Well, for starters, I run.”

“Well, for starters, that doesn’t sound like a pair activity,” Lance mocked Keith.

“You’re the one who asked to hang out. Didn’t you have a slight plan?”

“I live life spontaneously, Keith.”

“And in texting your dozen other friends, you didn’t  _ spontaneously _ have some sort of idea of what you’d do with any of them?”

“I usually wait to make any ideas until someone says that they can,” Lance said indignantly. 

“And what ideas did you make when I said that I could?” Keith inquired.

“I had the wonderful idea of asking you what you do for fun and then I’d go from there.”

“I told you something I do for fun.”

Lance pondered this for a moment. “Yes, and I came up with the idea to have an argument about ideas.”

“No you didn’t.”

“Didn’t I start it?”

“Arguing about having an activity isn’t an activity.”

“Wow, the troublemaker has a rulebook about things that are or aren’t activities? Could've sworn someone like you would see fighting as a hobby.”

“Someone like me?” Keith took a step forward towards Lance, his voice sharp. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Y’know, just that you look like the type to get into fights and stuff.”

“Do I?”

“The leather jacket, the fingerless gloves, the quiet, broody disposition, the glaring eyes…you look like a typical punk. You’re just a red streak of hair away from it.”  _ How do I make this not so aggressive. Think, Lance, think! _

Keith glowered at Lance. He shook his head. “I have homework I have to do.” He turned around, walking off.

Lance’s face fell. He had to fix this, he couldn’t let Keith just walk away, angry at him. What if it ruined their friendship? “Wait! Keith! There’s a coffee shop just a couple blocks away. We should go to it.”

“I don’t drink coffee,” Keith replied curtly, hardly turning his head over his shoulder. 

“They have other drinks, too. They have tea, and lemonade, and soda,” Lance offered hopefully. “And these really good pastries.”

Keith just kept walking, not bothering to say another thing. When Lance called his name again, he just slipped his earbuds back on.

 

***

 

The next morning, Keith followed his usual routine: shower, breakfast, bus. He hadn’t finished his math homework the night before, so he figured that it would be a good enough excuse to avoid conversation with Shiro on the ride to school. After all, he had to keep up with his classwork. It was easier to blame algebra than it was to talk more to Shiro about what had happened the night prior; they had already had an extensive conversation over text about it, and he had grown tired of the subject. He already had enough dread for chemistry class and P.E., no need to think more about it. Besides, he wasn’t in a talkative mood.

The day passed by with little more than a sour taste in Keith’s mouth. He picked at his food at lunch, listening to Shiro ramble about the things going on in his classes. The topic of today seemed to be the book they were reading in his English class; he wasn’t a big fan of Dickens, it seemed. That was really all Keith could discern from what he was saying, though; he felt bad that he wasn’t contributing to the classroom, and that he wasn’t listening much, but the lunchroom was too loud and bright every day, even in their little corner. 

Chemistry was what Keith was dreading the most. He considered feigning illness to get out of going, but then he realised that he might as well go there and just ignore Lance. He sat at the table and talked to Pidge and Hunk, ignoring anything said by or to Lance. Although Pidge and Hunk seemed a bit off put by it, given that the two were basically laying on top of each other just a day or two prior, neither commented on it. 

Lance knew that he had fucked up. He could tell it the night before, as soon as Keith had reacted. He had thought about it all while going home, walking instead of skateboarding. He had started to text Keith when he got home, but figured it would perhaps be best to give him a bit of space. His hope had been that when they got to chemistry class, Keith would at least acknowledge him, even just say a curt hello. But the other boy ignored Lance, and when he wasn’t doing that, was glaring at him. The lab went by without any banter between the two of them, Lance eventually stopping even trying to converse after Keith had clearly rejected his attempts. 

“Listen, man, I’m-” Lance started, just to be cut off.

“Pipette.” Keith didn’t care to let him finish.

Lance handed it to him. “I’m sorry.”

Keith didn’t reply. 

 

Gym went quite similar, though with even less talking, since they weren’t obligated to work with each other. Lance tried to talk to Keith, but he just got ignored. Both of them ended the day upset, Keith at Lance, and Lance at both Keith and himself. The bus ride home, Keith just listened to music, sitting next to Shiro but not leaning on him. The air was still too hot and humid for that, clinging to everything. When the bus eventually got to their stop, Keith and Shiro got off, and Shiro followed Keith home. The pair grabbed some food before heading upstairs, dropping their bags in a corner. “I’m gonna shower,” Keith said, heading off to the bathroom, trusting that Shiro would just make himself comfortable. It wasn’t all that odd of a routine for them, for Shiro to come over and Keith to go do other things. 

Keith towelled off, throwing clean pyjamas on before heading back to his room. Shiro was sitting on the bed, back against the wall, working on some of his math homework. “Your phone’s been buzzing a lot,” Shiro commented without looking up. 

Keith went to sit down on the bed next to Shiro, looking at his phone as he did so. Most of the notifications were just from Lance. He opened them, turned off the notifications for Lance, and then locked his phone before scooting closer to Shiro, who had finished his math homework and was tucking it safely back into its folder. Once Shiro had put his folder back into his backpack, Keith wordlessly leaned into him, and he wrapped his arm around his younger friend. After a few minutes, Shiro finally spoke. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Keith shook his head. “Not really.”  _ There’s no point in talking about it. I was wrong about a person. Big whoop. Now I just need to stop liking him and everything can go back to normal. _

“Okay,” Shiro replied, gently squeezing Keith’s shoulder. It was quiet for another few moments before he spoke again. “If you ask me, I don’t think he meant to be rude. He sounded like a decent guy, from what you were telling me. It might be worth it to talk to him. You don’t have to, but that’s just my opinion.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I’d like to think he’s a good guy. But he really did seem bent on being a dick last night.”

“This isn’t a romance novel, Keith. People have flaws. If you wait for someone who’s never a dick, you’ll never get a boyfriend. Even someone as charming and handsome as me has flaws and dickish moments. I’m not a perfect little angel, and neither is anyone else,” Shiro pointed out. 

Keith nodded. “I’m not going to text him tonight.”

“I wouldn’t try to force you to.”

“Good.”

“Just think about talking this through with him, okay?”

“I will, I will.”

“Good.”

Keith wasn’t all that hungry still, but he tried to have some of the food that he and Shiro brought up anyways. The pair worked on their homework, though both got distracted from time to time, and eventually Shiro had to head to his house for dinner. The two texted each other until they were too tired and had to sleep, and Keith anxiously waited for the next day, waking up every hour to toss and turn for a bit before falling back asleep.

 

***

 

Lance nervously paced the floor of his bedroom, trying to figure out what to do. He needed Keith to just listen to him, to let him explain that he didn’t mean to make an ass out of himself. But Keith wasn’t answering his texts, and the day before, Keith had hardly said a word to Lance. He knew he had to do something to make it up to Keith. Something big. He didn’t even know how things had escalated so quickly - he had been trying to just make a light joke about Keith being so broody, and then it got out of hand. He hadn’t expected Keith to take it so much to heart.  _ Why did he take it so harshly? Did he have a bad reputation in middle school or whatever? Has he never seen himself in a mirror? _

When Lance graduated from pacing his room to pacing his backyard, he got the perfect idea. It would require some careful yet spur-of-the-moment planning, but he knew exactly how to apologise the Lance way. It was the only way, he was certain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that this has taken so long to post. I know I say that every time, but I really do mean it. Hopefully the next chapter will be out sooner, though! Again, I'm sorry.

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is done! I'll try to update as often as I can, but I apologise if there isn't a solid schedule. Feel free to comment and give feedback, I appreciate all tips.


End file.
